


The Royals

by betheyyrose



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Action, Action in Later Chapters, Alternate Universe, Angst, Assassination, Bokuaka - Freeform, Bokuto Koutarou & Kuroo Tetsurou are Bros, Comedy, Complications, Fluff, Heavy Fic, I'm sorry for this, Lots of complications, M/M, Modern Royalty, Murder Mystery, Mystery, Prince!Akaashi, Slow Build, Slow Burn, Underworld, sighs, this is my first fic what do i do
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-04-26
Updated: 2017-12-29
Packaged: 2018-06-04 15:23:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 52,290
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6664051
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/betheyyrose/pseuds/betheyyrose
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Bokuto Koutarou is just a normal graduating teenager with no particular dreams other than to slack off forever. He lives a normal life until he discovers secrets that were hidden right under his nose and with those secrets came shit that will either make him or break him.</p>
<p>Akaashi Keiji is not a normal teenager. He is the prince of their country, the heir to the throne with a future already planned out for him since the day he was born. He never thought a single person could change the course of his life in more ways than one.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. In which Bokuto is not a safe driver

Chapter 1  
“Bokuto you can’t just neglect your life.” Daichi scolded him as he barged inside his room effectively waking him up. Bokuto was on his bed half-conscious and wholly hungover. His head throbbed and his stomach felt like digesting nails. 

Last night was wild that was for sure. His body ached especially his thighs no doubt from dancing too long and hitting on both men and women. But mostly men.

“Uh-huh” He murmured into his pillow clearly too tired to do anything. 

“Don’t ‘uh-huh’ me” Daichi spoke again. Bokuto didn’t reply he was falling asleep again which was a blessing until he felt his blanket torn off of him making him turn to his back, groaning eyes still shut tight. “Daichi what the fuck”

He heard a vicious yanking of cloth and the back of his eyelids burned, sunlight streaming through the window. He yelped after opening eyes, hissing violently. It didn’t help his headache at all but it woke him up enough to sit up.

“It’s 3pm and you’re still in bed.” Daichi reprimanded him as he turned around to leave the room “And didn’t you have class at 1?”

Bokuto groaned “Fuck. I’m gonna fail” He stood up with almost all his effort, trudging out to the hallway and into the kitchen where Kuroo stood carrying a glass of water handing it to him and he chugged it down automatically.

“Bro, you look like shit” Kuroo leaned on the counter squinting at him “You’re still wearing your clothes from last night” Bokuto looked down on his rumpled clothing and shrugged.

“Why don’t you look shitty too?” He asked as he sat down after taking out leftover pizza from the fridge. Kuroo was with him last night and he was more than sure that he too was wasted.

Kuroo grinned “Well my wayward friend, it’s because I’m used to this kind of stuff”. Bokuto scoffed and rolled his eyes “Yeah right”

“I’m pretty sure that’s not the case” Daichi strolled into the kitchen, ignoring Bokuto who looked at him pointedly still not over the sunlight bomb he dropped earlier. “He made this stuff this morning, it looked gross. Said it was perfect for hangovers”

Bokuto pointed his pizza at Kuroo “Pretty sure you got that from Hacking the System or some shit”

“Indeed I did” Kuroo smirked proudly “And it worked”

“Woah dude, what’s it made of? Make me some” Bokuto rubbed at his pounding head “My head feels like shit”

“Well it’s made of raw eggs, coconut water-“ Kuroo recited knowingly babbling about the amount of electrolytes and proteins in the drink “Woah, woah, woah bro. You lost me at ‘raw eggs’” 

“But bro it works” Kuroo glared at him “Unless you’re not man enough to take raw eggs”

“Excuse me. I’m more than man enough” Bokuto puffed his chest. “Oh yeah?” “Yeah bro”

“ Not this again” Daichi murmured and took his thermos with him as he turned away “I’m going out with Suga, don’t do anything stupid” He slammed the door closed. “Dadchi” Bokuto murmured. Earning a laugh from Kuroo. Honestly, Daichi was like their dad scolding them for stupid stuff that they sometimes did, well almost all the time. But it was fine since he was probably the only responsible one in the apartment with four other lunatics. Not that Bokuto admits that he’s a lunatic. Not at all. Nope. Okay maybe a little.

“Yohoooo” A singsong voice sounded from behind Bokuto, Kuroo rolled his eyes and turned away to check his phone. Bokuto groaned “It’s too early for you”  
Oikawa appeared inside the kitchen dressed to go out and feined hurt, touching his chest dramatically “How very rude of you guys. And it’s not early it’s 3 o’clock”

Kuroo snorted “It’s always too early to deal with you”. Oikawa stuck his tongue out and flipped him the bird. “Whatever. I’m going out with Iwa-chan I’ll be back tomorrow”

“You’re always out with Iwaizumi” Bokuto got up, went back to his bedroom after Kuroo left for school to pass some paper not before he downed the concoction his bro made for him, swearing he’d rather handle a hangover than go through that shit again. He spent almost half an hour rubbing his tongue through the running water cursing Kuroo who kept snickering and repeating “Not man enough”.

If Kuroo wasn’t his best bro he would’ve given him a piece of his mind but they were. Everyone in their apartment were all graduating students and Bokuto was clearly excited to get out of the hellhole commonly known as Uni he thanked the gods above that there’s only a single week left of college and he’d be free as an owl. He didn’t think he’d last another semester with his business major, don’t get him wrong- he liked math but everything else.. Nope.

He got dressed in his usual black get up, fixing his hair to perfection. He went out after locking their lonely apartment. It was almost like this in Sunday mornings with Daichi out and about with Suga, Kuroo in school taking it ‘seriously’, for all he knew he was hitting on the cute blond librarian, Oikawa with Iwaizumi his supposedly bff but everyone except the both of them knew that they wanted to shag each other. It was pathetic. 

Ushijima was probably in the gym practicing volleyball to the brink of his abilities, not like Bokuto didn’t like volleyball, he just knew his limits which would have surprised his former classmates if they found out their former simpleton ace said that.

So with that out of the way, he clambered onto his motorbike not bothering with a helmet which would only ruin his precious hair. Not really knowing where he was going, he rode around Fukurodani, eyeing the people all preparing for some sort of festival which is surprise surprise! In honor of the Royals.

“Damned Royals” Bokuto murmured eyeing their building as he sped past the huge gates protecting their rulers. Fukurodani was sort of a monarchy with a line of people ruling over them, keeping their asses safe inside their abbey. 

He didn’t even know shit about the Royals, he didn’t know their full names much less their faces. Yeah, you’d probably think that with him living in Fukurodani for 19 years, he’d know them but nope. He didn’t give a damn about them, not even sparing magazines with their faces a second glance, only watching sports channels and the occasional The Walking Dead on TV never turning to the news because well you get the point.

Besides, the royals kept to themselves, only showing their faces a couple of times, sometimes just the queen and the king well, always. He has this unexplainable hatred for the Royals which Kuroo has slapped him for a couple of times. Maybe he hated them because they had it easy since birth, unlike some people in Fukurodani that had to climb up society themselves. 

Which reminded him of his story, not like he was someone who had a hard life in fact his parents were lawyers and could very much provide for him. He was adopted, his parents told him they were barren and couldn’t bear children so when he was dropped by their doorstep they were the happiest people in the world. But the thing is, he saw how hard his parents worked, saw their suffering when they had to get up late for a case. Unlike some people who had everything thrusted into their hands.

Which was how he ended up in front of the Royal mansion just to glare at everything. Fuck those fountains, fuck those flowers, fuck those guards. He realized how stupid he was acting so he started the bike and sped away in search of a drink.

\-------------------------------------

“Keiji stop” He heard his father, Hayato, call out to him, following him across the room. He turned and saw him with a look in his eyes that if he moved, he would definitely regret it.

“Yes father?” Akaashi sighed, running a hand through his hair  
“Where do you think you are going?” His father stopped in front of him, crossing his arms. “Why are you dressed like that?” 

Akaashi looked down at his clothes, dark jeans, a white shirt, combat boots and a black leather jacket. “Uhm, out?” 

“What do you mean out?” His father bellowed, his voice resonating in the huge room making Akaashi cringe. “We have a meeting with the Duke of Karasuno, you can’t just go out. As the heir of the throne-“

“Yeah yeah, I have to be responsible enough, blah” Akaashi rolled his eyes “I already know what you guys are gonna talk about. Can’t I just sit this one out dad?”

“Sit it out?” His father laughed incredulously “Are you kidding me? Keiji-“

“Now now darling” A sweet voice said from behind his father making Akaashi sigh in relief “You’re being too uptight. Keiji knows how important the throne is, you don’t have to scold him all the time” followed by a grumble. Akaashi’s mother, Kiyoko, walked past the King giving him the stink-eye and walked to her son. 

“Mother, you look beautiful today” Akaashi grinned shoving his hands into his pockets.

His mother looked pleased and beamed at him “I do? Well, now you know where you got your looks since you look pretty dashing yourself” There was a faint sound of protest and his father stood beside his mother mumbling how he too was dashing making them both chuckle.

“Anyhow” His mother flashed him a smile “Weren’t you off too somewhere, darling? Go on now, you take care. I’ll take care of your guards, make sure they’ll give you space”

“But- Kiyoko” Hayato protested faintly

“Oh for the love of-“ Kiyoko rolled her eyes, resting a hand on her husband’s arms “Your son’s eighteen already, let him live a little before he’s weighed down by the throne”

Akaashi gave his mother a thumbs up and proceeded to kiss her cheek and punch his father playfully before jogging out of the room as the double doors opened for him, automatically swarmed by his security detail. He allowed them for a while before the head, Konoha, received a call and commanded the others to stay away enough to give him space. 

Akaashi nodded as his driver opened the door to his car, which he declined with a wave of his hand “Nah, I think I’ll be walking today”

“Are you sure, your majesty?”

“Akaashi” He corrected the driver nodded and cleared his throat “Are you sure, Akaashi?”

“Better” He nodded again “And I’m sure”

With that he placed on his sunglasses and walked out to the courtyard alone, hands in his pockets staying hidden by some of the ornamental trees, guards swarming the place. He  
reached the guardhouse telling them to open the gates for him which they complied to reluctantly. When he was out of the gates he breathed in freely. He loved it. He always wanted to be free of everything. Free of the press, the throne, everything.

He trudged down the sidewalk, his head down to avoid someone noticing him and recognize who he was. He wasn't really that scared to be recognized, in fact he doubted a lot of people even knew what he looked like since he never really showed himself to the public but when he did he always kept to himself not really conversing, making him forgettable to people and he was happy about that. 

He was startled by a motorbike driving past him, he looked at it and only saw the person’s back clad in black with spiked gray and white hair.

He chuckled as he saw this. He wondered what it would be like to have hair like that. He cringed thinking of the way his father would react and then laughing at the possible outrage the other royals would show.

Akaashi continued to walk for a couple of minutes with his head down, not really that scared since he knew his guards are somewhere nearby. His 30-minute walk lead him to a pub that looked sort of ominous with windows looking dark but he can hear the faint sound of music from inside. He drew in a breath and walked inside, the smell of beer and peanuts hitting his nose.

He exhaled and sat by the bar, looking around and seeing people mostly minding their business but there was also that unavoidable occasional stare he got.

"You new here?" Came a voice from the counter, he looked at the bartender who smiled at him. He was a tall guy with tousled black hair and think eyebrows. "The names Sarukui" The man smiled again

"Uh-yeah I'm new here" Akaashi said as he cleared his throat

Surukui nodded "You gonna order or what?"

"Yeah, I'll have a bottle of beer" 

Sarukui complied and offered him one, nodding "This one's on the house"

"Yeah thanks" He gripped the cold bottle and chugged half of his contents until he felt someone sit beside him by the counter

"Yo Sarukui" The man said sliding a glass "Fill me up"

Akaashi turned towards the man and he did a double take. The hair was unmistakable, his hair was more white-gray and black than white and grey. The man looked at him too, a large smile on his face. He had large golden eyes and thick eyebrows. He was attractive, Akaashi was sure of that, with the all-black outfit and that cheeky grin.

"Hey, hey, hey" The man turned on the swivel bar chair "Are you new here? You look like you're new here. I'm pretty sure you're new here."

Akaashi almost laughed at the enthusiasm of the man in front of him but he kept his usual deadpan look "Yeah, I am"

The man brightened up and slapped his shoulder "I was right!"

"What are you doing there" Sarukui laughed crossing his arms at the man "Stop corrupting the costumers"

"What I'm doing is far from corrupting" The man frowned and looked at Akaashi as if to say 'Can you believe this guy?'. Sarukui chuckled leaving them to tend to another costumer.

Akaashi lifted his mouth and the guy winked at him and turned again, drinking from his glass "So, what's your name?". Akaashi was not prepared for this question. He weighed down his options. Should he tell the guy his real name and risk his identity or should he just give a fake one. He ruled out that there wasn't any harm in telling the person so he said, "Akaashi, Akaashi Keiji" He said reluctantly, eyeing the man expecting the barrage of questions he was most likely to get but what surprised him was the man only nodded.

"Cool" The man said, holding his hand out "The name's Bokuto Koutarou". Akaashi took his hand reluctantly and said, "You don't know me?" 

Bokuto looked at him incredulously and chuckled "What? I just met you like 10 minutes ago and knew you for about 60 seconds". Akaashi nodded. This was the first time he ever had a conversation like this, without the person freaking out about his name because even though the public didn't really know his face, they sure as hell recognized his name.

"Wait, that sounds familiar" And there it goes. "Akaashi, Akaashi -- hmmm" The man tapped his chin thoughtfully "Rings a bell"

Akaashi refused to help him figure out that bell. No. Nope. Nadda

"Ah-ha!" Shit "Akaashi, isn't that the name of the king? I'm not really sure, I don't know much about those people and I avoid knowing much too but you can't really help it when you hear names from radios" Bokuto laughed "But that's probably a coincidence. I doubt one of the royals would be dallying around the city, right?" He nudged Akaashi with an elbow

Akaashi nodded "Yeah, it's just a coincidence. I'm not really part of the royals" He tried to smile but it came out fake "That'd be ridiculous"

With that, Bokuto laughed "I know, right?!" Akaashi nodded and finished his beer. They talked, well, Bokuto did most of the talking stating how Akaashi should never try drinking raw eggs with coconut water and other stuff and quote "Even though you feel like shit or super hungover because it's hella not worth it". Akaashi laughed at that and talked quietly about the books he was reading and Bokuto listened to him intently which Akaashi appreciated.

That continued for a bit more minutes until Akaashi fished out his phone and saw the time. He's been here for an hour. Weird, he thought. He got up and smiled at Bokuto "Well, I have to go. It's getting late"

"Late? Are you serious? It's only 6 o'clock" Bokuto thrusted a finger at his wrist watch. Akaashi looked at him pointedly "I'm pretty sure that's late"

Bokuto scratched his head "Well, not for me." He stood up too as Akaashi walked away and trudged alongside him. "Where do you live anyway? Do you have a car?" He questioned Akaashi who shrugged "Somewhere close by. I walked here"

"Oh okay" Bokuto nodded and went towards his bike "Want me to give you a ride?"

"No, I'm fine" Akaashi waved off the offer since he knew Bokuto would probably find out about him if he asked him to drive to the mansion.

Bokuto whined and complained as he straddled the bike "Come on Akaashi. It's not safe walking alone." Akaashi was sure he was far from alone. "And it's getting late. You words remember?" Akaashi shook his head and rolled his eyes "How will I know you aren't some criminal who'll take me away and sell my innards to the black market"

Bokuto tilted his head to the side, looking like an owl "Wait-you can do that? You can sell human innards?" And the confused look he gave more than convince Akaashi that he was in fact- not a criminal.

"I'm not a criminal and I just want to return the favor. You listened to me talk and didn't brush me off as someone annoying unlike other people" Bokuto frowned into the distance.

And Akaashi thought Bokuto was far from annoying, if the last hour was something to go by with. "Alright fine"

Bokuto smiled and pumped his hands in the air "Hey,hey! Come on!" He gestured for Akaashi to get on. Akaashi did and was handed a helmet, "Wear that"

"What about you?" Akaashi asked as he put it on. "Nah. It'll ruin my awesome hairdo" Akaashi chuckled at that. "And I'm pretty sure I'm a safe driver so no worries."

Akaashi nodded "Alright. Just drop me off by the Fukuro mansion" Referring to their mansion.

"What, why?" Bokuto said as he started the engine. "You have business with the royals or something?"

"Yeah, I guess I do."

And Akaashi then found out that Bokuto was not, at all, a safe driver.


	2. In which Bokuto goes to the library

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this chapter starts with less Akaashi/Bokuto I guess because I wanted to show the deep friendship between the five idiots(Bokuto, Kuroo, Oikawa, Daichi and Ushijima) before I dive into the plot. But worry not my friends for the next chapter (which I will upload today) will fulfill our thirst for Akaashi/Bokuto.

Chapter 2  
“Bro, he was beautiful” Bokuto was inside their usual club, sitting on one of the booths, a beer in hand staring at Kuroo sitting across him, who was looking at him as he told him about his little adventure earlier that afternoon.

“Bro, I haven’t heard you say that about anyone” Kuroo chuckled and shook his head “Everyone you meet is either ‘hot’ or ‘shaggable’ not ‘beautiful’” 

Bokuto groaned and ran a hand across his face “Because he was. Damn it took all my might not to gape at him. I mean seriously bro” 

“Oooh, what’s this” Both heads turned to look at Oikawa with a hand on his hip giving Bokuto a look that made him want to slap it off his face “Bokuto-chan’s infatuateeeed?”

“Damn Shittykawa” Iwaizumi flicked his ear earning a yelp from Oikawa “You’re really annoying when you do that”, he said as he sat beside Bokuto.

“That’s not what you said last night” Oikawa flashed him a smile and sat down, “Ohoho?” Kuroo and Bokuto shared a look and wiggled their eyebrows

“What the fuck are you talking about?!” Iwaizumi flushed so deep he looked like a freaking cherry. 

Oikawa laughed loudly “I was just kidding, Iwa-chan”, he said as he reached a hand over Iwaizumi and made a move to take Bokuto’s beer which he slapped with a glare.

“Sooo enough about mine and Iwa-chan’s stor-Ow! Iwa-chan!” Oikawa rubbed the back of his head “As I was saying, who’s the unlucky guy?”

“Fuckin’savage man” Kuroo whistled appreciatively 

Bokuto gave Oikawa a menacing glare “It was this guy I met at Sarukui’s pub this afternoon” he explained.

“Aaand” 

“We just talked and stuff and he was..hot” Bokuto chose his words carefully this time, looking at Kuroo daring him to say anything  
“Aaaaand”

“Uhm, I kinda drove him to the Fukuro mansion, said he had some business with the Royals” Bokuto explained.

“What’s his name?” Kuroo asked leaning forward, clearly fascinated that his bro was showing some sort of emotion other than pure lust. 

Bokuto rubbed the back of his head “Well, he told me not to tell anyone. Says he’s uncomfortable with it.” Bokuto said, remembering their exact conversation,

“So, here?” Bokuto had said as he stopped, slightly away from the main gate of the mansion.

Akaashi nodded and climbed off his bike, handing him his helmet as he ruffled his black locks. Bokuto looked at him as he did that shaking his head to avoid getting caught. “Thanks for the ride, Bokuto”

“No biggie” Bokuto crossed his arms and stared again at Akaashi who fiddled under his gaze “Yeah and Bokuto? Please don’t tell anyone my name”

Bokuto eyed him suspiciously “How did you know I’d tell anyone about you”

“Uhm, not like I was assuming stuff or anything, it’s just that I don’t like it when people know my name, I hate it.” Akaashi sighed and shoved his hands inside his pockets. Bokuto wanted an explanation but he decided not to push it too much.

“Alright” He grinned at Akaashi as he started his bike, “Just your name, yeah?”

Akaashi nodded and curled his lip slightly “Just my name”

And with that Bokuto started the engine and drove away.

“Ohh” Oikawa said as Bokuto told them how much Akaashi hated being known. It was weird but it’s not his place to pry.

“So he’s kinda mysterious, huh?” Iwaizumi said as he called a waiter and asked for three more beers.

Bokuto nodded “He kinda is”

“So all you know is that he’s handsome, tall, has black hair, nice eyes and he’s beautiful” Kuroo wiggled his eyebrows at him. Bokuto groaned “I’m probably just appreciating his beauty ya know?”

Oikawa looked like he was about to say the funniest thing ever which Bokuto doubted it even was, “So added with the fact that he’s mysterious…” Silence hung in the air as Oikawa paused for what he believed was for dramatic effect “It’s now safe to say that Bokuto’s type in beauty is Tall, Dark and Handsome” He wiggled his eyebrows

*cricket noises*

It was Iwaizumi who spoke first, “Damn that was lame. Even for you, Oikawa”

“Oh come on guys it was funny” 

Kuroo shook his head “No dude, hell no. I’m tall, dark and handsome and Bokuto hella didn’t go for me”

Bokuto made gagging noises “Bro if I went for you it’d be like shagging my brother or something”

“What is this about shagging brothers?” Daichi suddenly sat beside Kuroo followed by Ushijima.

“Ugh- you’re all here” Iwaizumi stood up “I can’t handle the five of you together. I’m gonna go” He said after turning to Oikawa and flicking his forehead.

After Iwaizumi left, Oikawa took it upon himself to explain to Daichi and Ushijima, Bokuto’s current predicament.

“So?” Ushijima deadpanned, sipping from his bottle of beer which he conveniently stole from Kuroo  
“Isn’t it like a normal occurrence for Bokuto to appreciate another person’s ass?”

“Don’t you dare insult his ass” Bokuto said, even though he didn’t actually take time to stare at Akaashi’s ass when he was walking out of the store. He didn’t. Not at all. Nope.

Kuroo chuckled “Bro as much as I enjoy talking about asses, I’d like to know, did you actually get his phone number?”  
“Knowing him, he probably doesn’t have it” Daichi commented, scrolling through his phone.

“Nope. He does. 20 dollars says he has it.” Kuroo eyed Bokuto menacingly as if to say ‘Bro, you better have it’

“Deal” Daichi said grinning triumphantly as he pocketed his phone, crossed his arms and leaned back on the sofa.

“Guys I’m right here” Bokuta flailed his arms “And no I didn’t get his number”

The night went on with them sharing beers, voices being drowned by Kuroo’s wails of despair.

\--------------------------------------------------------

“Bro, I can’t believe you didn’t get his number” Kuroo mumbled as he brushed his teeth by the sink. 

Bokuto rolled his eyes and downed the last of his coffee “Bro, that was like four days ago”

“I know” Kuroo wailed “But still. Didn’t I teach you enough to know how important someone’s number is?”

Bokuto just shrugged. He actually regretted not asking for Akaashi’s number but it was too late and now 4 days down he still hasn’t seen Akaashi around the city. Besides, even if he got his number he would never know what to do with it other than contemplate for hours on end on what to type.

And even though Akaashi was hot and stuff, he was scared he might creep the guy out if he started making moves just after they met. Bokuto would want him as a friend first of course and he’s not a person who can’t wait for stuff.

“Whatever bro” Kuroo walked past him “Better get dressed, it’s 2:30 and graduation starts at three”

With that, Bokuto cursed and ran to his room almost tripping over the towel he’d placed around his hips which fell uneventfully when he entered his room. He threw on a gray button down with a black tie, fitted slacks and dress shoes before turning to the mirror to gel up his hair nice and tidy.

A knock sounded from his door “Bo, we’re leaving like right now”

“Yeah, yeah.Wait up” He scrambled, picking up his wallet and phone unceremoniously shoving them in his pockets, throwing his toga over his shoulder and carrying his cap in one hand. He stepped out of the room and saw Kuroo almost out of the door with his phone beside his ear.

“Yes. I know. Affirmative” Bokuto heard Kuroo speak to the receiver.

“Whoa bro, who was that?” Bokuto asked as he ended the call, walking towards the lot where Kuroo’s car was parked. “Just some sort of roleplay with Kenma” Kuroo replied getting inside the driver’s seat and Bokuto inside the passenger’s.

“Seriously?” He eyed Kuroo suspiciously, the cute blond dude from the library? He continued to stare which made Kuroo shove him and place a hand by his heart “Bro are you doubting me?”

Bokuto laughed and held up his hands in a placating gesture. “Nah bro. Just shitting with you”

Kuroo started the engine, shaking his head. It was a moment after they took off that Bokuto spoke, “Can you believe it bro? We’re finally graduating!”

“Can’t” Kuroo kept his eyes on the road, frowning slightly “Time sure flies, eh bro?”

“True that” Bokuto nodded enthusiastically. They arrived at school and met with the Daichi, Oikawa and Ushijima who all left earlier than them. All their parents weren’t there for that day, they were all busy and were in other cities making it impossible for them to attend.

The five of them sat for almost two hours as they heard names being called out. Bokuto was the first one to be called between the five of them, he clambered up to the stage as he received his diploma, shooting finger guns at each of his friends earning a collective chuckle from the entire hall. Then Daichi, followed by Oikawa who gave their dean a peace sign, then Kuroo who dramatically bowed- taking off his hat and holding it to his stomach like the gentleman that he was not and lastly Ushijima with his usual deadpan look. 

The ceremony ended and they all went home from school for probably the last time in their lives. 

“Ah, freedom” Bokuto said as he draped himself over Kuroo who was texting by the couch. “Freedom indeed my child, freedom indeed” Kuroo said.

Daichi came out of his room, arms crossed “So are we not gonna celebrate?”

Bokuto gasped dramatically “Daichi’s asking us to go out and celebrate?!” He got up and knelt, his hands to spread looking at the ceiling “The stars have aligned!”

“The world is at peace!” Kuroo said after him, standing on the couch with his arms also spread, phone in one hand. 

Daichi rubbed his temples “You guys are idiots”

“What is this?” Ushijima said as he went out of his own room, staring at Kuroo and Bokuto “Are guys trying to reenact Titanic?”

“I can be your Rose!” Oikawa screamed from the kitchen

\-------------------------------------------

They ended up celebrating in a fancy restaurant in the middle of the city. Apparently, Daichi got them reservations but made it clear that they were paying for themselves. 

“This is cool dude” Bokuto said looking up at the chandeliers and the fancy chairs.

The five of them walked towards a round table, lead by a woman who kept blushing and stealing glances at Oikawa. What the fuck, Bokuto thought. Oikawa’s hot but not the much, so how come?

They all sat around the table, they ordered fancy food with equally fancy prices. Bokuto looked around, eyeing everyone in the room. They looked like royals, he thought, with all the fancy clothes and jewelry.

When he turned back to his friends, Kuroo had somehow taken possession of the empty candelabra on their table, brandishing it like a sword and then like a rifle with additional sound effects. Oikawa held up the tray that held their water glasses earlier like a shield and Bokuto decided to join in, wrapping the table handkerchief around his forehead collecting his fairly large amount of spoons and forks and placing them between his fingers. Daichi shook his head, palming his forehead thanking the heavens that atleast Ushijima was acting formally.

I spoke too soon, Daichi thought as Ushijima clanged two wine glasses together like Johnny Depp, talking about the Fountain of Youth.

Their orders arrived soon after, the four of them scrambled to fix themselves except Kuroo who handed the candelabra to the wait staff talking about how it was ‘bothering him’. They ate relatively quiet save for some ridiculous chitchat. Bokuto thought about how his life would go soon after. He’d probably work for some café or convenience store. There goes my business major, he thought.

“Where do you think we’ll go after all this?” Bokuto asked quietly, twirling his pasta

“Uhm- home?” Kuroo said as he lifted his wineglass to his mouth.

Bokuto shot him a look “I mean, after everything. I’m pretty sure some of you are going to some other city, get jobs, get your own apartments.” With that, everyone fell into silence.

Bokuto hated to admit it but after four years of being with these people, he never really thought of parting from them. His entire life consisted of the other four, waking up with them in the kitchen or the living room and sleeping after a good nightout. Sure they bantered a lot, receiving several words from Daichi, putting up with Ushijima’s bluntness, Oikawa’s overall personality and Kuroo and his’ shit. They were like family to him. Maybe that was why being away from them never seemed like a viable option.

Kuroo cleared his throat “Well for what it’s worth, I’m staying here. Get a job somewhere near; make use of my med degree”

“Me too” Oikawa said wiping his mouth with his handkerchief “I never really thought of going anywhere. Besides , I’m happy here ya know.”

Ushijima spoke “It will all depend on whether I’m skilled enough to play volleyball internationally”. He was met by four nodding heads. Bokuto knew how much Ushijima loved volleyball and how he dreamed of becoming a professional player. Everyone understood.

Daichi stared at his glass of water, “I think I’ll be leaving. A law firm from Karasuno offered me a place as a paralegal.”

“That’s great dude” Bokuto slapped his back “I mean it would suck without you, nobody to take care of us and stuff…” His voice trailed off. Everyone remained silent, staring at anything but the faces of their friends

“Ah shit” Oikawa spoke up “Guess it’s just the three of us, then?” He slapped the backs of Kuroo and Bokuto who were conveniently seated on either sides of him. He was met by groans and chuckles.

\--------------------------

The day after, every one of them were hungover because of the fact that they decided to party after dining. Even Daichi had a slight wobble to his steps last night which resulted to Iwaizumi picking them up, looking like he regretted every decision in his life that led up to the situation.

“My head feels like shit, bro” Kuroo said as he hung on to the counter, pouring himself a generous amount of water. Bokuto himself was lying on the counter shuddering at the thought of how many shots of tequila he managed to down last night.

“Wateeeer” Oikawa was literally crawling on the floor, he climbed onto a chair and draped himself over it. Contrary to popular belief, Oikawa was the most lightweight out of the four of them not counting Ushijima because he had a stomach of steel, never getting drunk no matter how many drinks he downed. 

He was Kuroo and Bokuto’s secret weapon in parties, betting with people on how many drinks the guy could take, earning them several extra cha-ching. Daichi, who was cooking lunch for them (it was 1 o’clock) walked over to Oikawa handing him a huge bottle and he downed it viciously.

“Alright lunch’s ready!” Daichi shouted, earning several protests from the hungover people inside the kitchen. Bokuto who was closer to Daichi shoved his hands over his ears groaning, his head ringing like a freaking gong

“Oops sorry” Daichi was not sorry at all, setting the food on the table. Bacon, eggs (thankfully not raw), sausage and toasted bread. Ushijima came out of his room and approached them, sitting down and looking at his friends all in several states of pain. He scoffed “Lightweights”

“Damn you Ushiwaka-chan” Oikawa complained as he sat down properly, his fist sailing in slow motion and landing harmlessly on Ushijima’s arm.

They all sat together, eating quietly. Eating was sort of the only time that they shut up, silently agreeing on the amount of respect food deserved. No seriously.

They all parted after washing their own dishes because Dadchi was very particular about ‘your responsibilities in this apartment’.

Bokuto took a long shower, hopefully washing away his hangover. He got dressed, thinking about his plans for the day. Well, half the day. He would go to the convenience store and buy himself a new bottle gel because he was running low and..and that was pretty much it. 

As he climbed onto his bike, he thought of maybe looking for Akaashi in the city. Maybe he’d see him somewhere by the streets. And see him he did.

He was walking out of the store, a new bottle of gel in hand when he spotted a familiar person walk in to the public library across the street. Hurriedly, he placed the bottle in his U-box and crossed the street toward the library; searching for that familiar face. Those were some big-ass books, he thought when he walked down the shelves running a hand through the neatly piled ones. 

That was when he spotted Akaashi, who was taking a book from the shelf infront of the one Bokuto was standing before. His side was clear of books so he saw the man clearly, who was startled enough to drop what he was holding.

Bokuto rushed around the shelf and was greeted by a tired-looking Akaashi, clutching the book he dropped to his chest.

“Hey!” Bokuto grinned at him

Akaashi frowned “Do I know you?” Bokuto’s heart dropped to his feet. 

“I-uhm-heh” Bokuto looked for words startled by the laugh Akaashi let out. 

“I was just kidding, Bokuto. I remember you, of course.” 

Bokuto breathed a sigh of relief “Well damn, warn me next time”

Akaashi quirked his lip “Where’s the fun in that?”

“Somewhere, I guess” Bokuto grinned and Akaashi turned away. He followed him towards one of the reading tables and sat in front of him as Akaashi opened the book and scanned the first page.

“So whatcha doing here?” Bokuto asked, grinning widely as he fiddled on his chair.

Akaashi lifted his eyes “Reading”

“I can see that”

“What are you doing here?” Akaashi squinted his eyes at him, “I doubt it’s for reading”

“Nah I was looking for a book” Bokuto lied, trying to keep his smile. Shit. Shit.. Shit.

“Really? What book?” Akaashi inquired looking at him intently

Bokuto fiddle with his hands “Er-uhm-I was looking for a cookbook really, I’m trying to learn cooking-yeah.” He said smiling fakely as Akaashi stared at him a lot more. Author, Bokuto, author. “By-uh-Edgar Allan Poe” He was convinced with his words and mentally high-fived himself in the face with a chair. He thought of a cookbook and just threw in the first author he saw from the stack of books.

“A cookbook by Edgar Allan Poe?” Akaashi drawled closing his own book as Bokuto nodded vigorously.

Akaashi nodded slowly before he buried his face in his hands. Alarms blared in Bokuto’s mind, Oh shit, I screwed up, Mayday, mayday.

“Akaashi-“ He lifted a hand to touch the guy in front of him before he heard the snickers that turned into full blown laughter. He drew his hand back “What-“

“A cookbook by Poe?” Akaashi laughed so hard his face turned red, Bokuto found himself laughing too as he stared as Akaashi’s joyous face. Bokuto was reminded yet again of Akaashi’s beauty: his brooding eyes, thin pink lips, his narrow nose, the shape of his face, he was entranced. 

They laughed for a good couple of minutes, Bokuto not really knowing what was funny and Akaashi seemingly very happy.

Their laughter died down and Akaashi wiped at his eyes and sighed“Oh my God. Haven’t laughed like that in years. Thanks”

“You really should laugh more ya know” Bokuto said, smiling.

“Nothing really funny happens in my life” Akaashi said turning to his book, lips twisted into a faint smile.

Bokuto puffed his chest “I’m here now, so you’re probably well under way” He said without thinking.

Akaashi lifted his head and smiled “I know”

 

Bokuto leaned forward and scanned his face, there we dark circles under his eyes and a slight droopiness to his eyes, even more so than usual “You know ‘kaashi, you look tired.”

“I do?” “Mm-hmm”

Akaashi ran a hand through his face, “I guess it’s because of stress. Lot of things to do, ya know”

That was when Bokuto thought of something brilliant. He stood up and offered a hand to Akaashi, “Let’s go” He said determinedly

“Uh-where?” He got up reluctantly and accepted Bokuto’s outstretched hand. Bokuto dragged him outside the store, pace set determinedly. “Where are we going, Bokuto?” He said again as Bokuto straddled his bike and handed him the helmet. 

Bokuto grinned at him, “Put that on. We’re going on an adventure”


	3. In which Bokuto sees the sun set

Chapter 3

Akaashi didn’t know what he was thinking but all thoughts of Bokuto’s reckless driving flew out of the window when he was given a sincere smile that reminded him of the sun. He didn’t even know this guy much. He met him only a couple of days ago, albeit briefly.

Akaashi thought of the consequences he soon would face, knowing that he was supposedly in the library and managed to trick his single guard that day to buy him a drink from the closest café which was still pretty far.

Shrugging, he sent his mother a quick text saying that he was safe and would be gone for a couple of hours without security and that he’ll be home by eight, knowing that his mother was less likely to freak out than his dad.

He climbed onto the bike after putting on the helmet and wrapped his arms loosely around Bokuto’s waist. Bokuto started the engine and drove off slow at first but Akaashi knew what was to come. “Hold on tight!” Bokuto shouted over the roar of the engine and the buzzing of the wind.

Akaashi held on tight as Bokuto sped off, breathing in sharply he closed his eyes and buried his face on Bokuto’s back.

“Hey watcha doin’?” Bokuto shouted “Stop closing your eyes!” Akaashi shook his head on Bokuto’s back and buried deeper. He could feel Bokuto’s laugh vibrating from his back making him smile.

“Alright you can close your eyes for a while so it’s more of a surprise” Bokuto said as he slowed down, turning right. That went on for a couple of minutes, even though Bokuto slowed down a couple of kilometers, Akaashi was buried deep inhaling Bokuto’s faint scent of vanilla and detergent.

He could hear the surroundings going quieter save for the engine.

“Hey” Bokuto said softly “You can open your eyes now”. Akaashi did so reluctantly and his breath caught in his throat as he saw such beautiful scenery. The buildings were gone and so was traffic, they were out of the city for sure. They were driving along a fenced cliff overlooking the sea and a plain field to his right. He saw that the sun was still decently high on the sky, he could see faint white waves from below, several fishing boats out and about and he couldn’t help but gape.

“Beautiful, right?” Bokuto whispered and half turned to peek at him

Akaashi nodded slowly, not taking his eyes off the sea. “It is.” Akaashi never really got the chance to explore the outside world. Mostly because his parents wanted to keep him locked off and safe from enemies that hated them but that was a story for another time.

While he was allowed to go out and about as long as his guards were there, he never really went outside the main city with the buildings and the skyscrapers. He only saw natural sceneries from pictures his mother and father brought from different places but he never really saw them first hand. And now he has seen them. All thanks to Bokuto.

 

He didn’t close his eyes after that. He didn’t want to.

They stopped at an open side-shop by the fields with different knick-knacks. Bokuto talked to the old lady in front, clearly they knew each other. He looked around, seeing several owl shaped bracelets and charms. He ran a hand through a small bookshelf seeing old versions of different books he knew. He smiled to himself as he ran a hand through the peeling spines.

“Hey” Someone behind him spoke softly. Akaashi turned and saw that Bokuto was holding something in his hand.

“Hey” Akaashi said back and stepped forward “What’ve you got there?”

Bokuto grinned and showed him a simple leather bracelet with a single charm. It was a silver owl, hanging by a minute ring and a silver clasp.

“What’s that?” Akaashi asked. _It’s a bracelet you dumbass_ , he scolded himself. Bokuto smiled brighter and stretched out his hand “It’s for you”

Akaashi was sure he was blushing. Damn what the hell. “For me?” “Yeah. Here, hold out your arm.”

Akaashi did as he was told, holding out his left arm and Bokuto wrapped it around his wrist silently, clasping it. “There.”

He brought his wrist close to his chest and smiled at Bokuto “Thank you”

Bokuto scratched his head smiling sheepishly “You’re welcome”

They bid goodbye to the old lady and she smiled at them waving happily and reminding Bokuto to always eat healthy which made said man blush and Akaashi laugh.

“So where’s our next stop?” Akaashi asked lively to Bokuto.

Bokuto hummed and laughed after turning to look at him briefly, “It’s a surprise”. Akaashi shook his head at that.

They drove past the sea and they were in a road with trees on each side that held bright red flowers. Bokuto pulled over in the center park of a bustling town with only several cars.

“What are we doing here?” Akaashi asked, he remembered he forgot to put on his helmet earlier after they took off from the woman’s shop. “Something” Bokuto said with a smile, he held out his and Akaashi took it as he was guided towards the side of the park, seeing several stands of food.

“Street food?” Akaashi asked Bokuto quizzically. Bokuto grinned and nodded enthusiastically as he led him to one of the simpler stands and Bokuto yet again greeted the person manning it, this time it was a middle-aged guy with side burns.

“Oh, Bokuto! You finally came! Thought you’d never visit us again.” The man said clapping Bokuto’s shoulder.

“Yeah, I kinda got busy with school and stuff” He explained, looking at the display of food that Akaashi has never seen before in his life.

The man nodded “Oh yeah! Last year.” He turned towards Akaashi and gave him a small smile, “Only one of your friends this time? Weren’t there five of you lot” Akaashi looked at Bokuto quizzically.

“Yep. But he’s someone new, Chiyo” Bokuto said to the man and turned to Akaashi and explained “I used to come here often with my roommates. You’ll probably meet them sometime”

 _So that meant they’d still hangout after this, right?_ , Akaashi thought excitedly.

“Noisy lot” The man, Chiyo said to him knowingly. “Brace yourself when you actually meet them”

Akaashi smiled “Sure. I’ll keep that in mind”

Bokuto groaned “Chiyo stop making us look bad” “But you guys are bad” “Damn there’s no winning against this guy”

Akaashi smiled at their little banter. Bokuto ordered one of everything and he carried them in a plate heading towards one of the tables in front of Chiyo’s stall.

“So, you’re planning on eating all of that?” Akaashi asked tilting his head. Bokuto laughed “No, silly. You are.”

“Excuse me?” Akaashi frowned somehow startled. He haven’t tasted streetfood his whole life, always settling for the fancy stuff in their mansion with those steak cuts that were always too raw for his tastes.

“I’m pretty sure you haven’t tasted streetfood so here” Bokuto slid the plate over to him, which he eyed curiously. They looked appetizing.

“I haven’t” Akaashi said, picking up a stick that held what looked like three orange balls, he poked one with a fork, as he placed it on his plate preparing to open it.. “Akaashiii that’s not how you eat streetfood.” Bokuto exclaimed “This child!” He whined in front of him. He lifted the stick himself and held it near Akaashi’s mouth which he bit into one reluctantly. Surprisingly it tasted good, sort of savory inside with what tasted like egg  and the coating was sweet which he suspected was some type of dough. “Yum?” Bokuto asked excitedly, bouncing on his chair.

“Mm-hmm” Akaashi said with a mouthful of the stuff as he took the stick from Bokuto munching on it. Bokuto pumped his hands excitedly.

Akaashi ate for a bit before talking “So how did a city boy like you discover a place like this?”

Bokuto scratched his head, “Well, when I was in highschool, I’d get into these moods where I’d feel completely useless and dejected. It was like that all the time for me, I’d feel lonely and unloved and unimportant and useless for no reason. I felt hollow like somebody scooped up my emotions and left a mere husk. Nothing could cheer me up so there was this time when I hitched a ride with a couple headed somewhere I didn’t even know. I just wanted to get away for a while. I had only a few dollars and my phone but I went with them trying to look for something to cheer me up.”

Bokuto drew in a breath and Akaashi put down the stick, leaning forward to listen. “ They drove to this place and surprisingly I felt better, seeing the sea and fields from the back seat of the car and then they stopped at this town. I got off and spent the night here, walking around, sightseeing playing with some children by the street and then got hungry, met my old man Chiyo here.” He laughed gesturing at the man, who waved with a brief ‘yo’

“I ate street food because I had few money left I never expected to taste good but it did. That was why I kept coming back to this place especially when I got my bike. This was the only place the cheered me up you know? Away from the city’s shit. “ Bokuto’s cheeks were flushed slightly and he had this embarrassed look.

Akaashi cleared his throat and reached over the small table to touch Bokuto’s arm “It’s nothing to be embarrassed about you know” Bokuto nodded and looked at him brightly. Akaashi wanted to share things to Bokuto but he was afraid that maybe if he did, he’d have to reveal his true identity.

Ah shit, he thought. Might as well go for it.

“Well I’m gonna share something too. It seems only fair” Akaashi breathed heavily and stared at his fingers. Bokuto eyed him as if to say 'Are you sure?' Which he nodded to.

“I never really had friends, you know? Well, maybe I did but they were somehow obliged.” Akaashi whispered, thinking of his guards and their staff “I never went to a normal school, I was homeschooled ever since I was young. Because of that, I became anti-social and I didn’t interact with people save from my family. I was in highschool when I had this huge panic attack”

Akaashi remembered it well. The faces of people in the ballroom, being swarmed by people asking how he was and how ready he was to take over the throne. “There were so many people and I couldn’t breathe. So I rushed out of the place and stumbled into a library. There were books. So much books. The air was heavy with their smell and I actually calmed down after reading a book. Books saved me from my dilemma. I read about how antagonists got over their fear of other people, their anxiety and then I did them for myself. I somehow escaped my reverie through stories of other people, albeit fictional. So yeah.”  

 Bokuto drew a sharp breath “That’s tough.” “Speak for yourself” He retorted

“We’ve gone through some definite shit, haven’t we?” Bokuto asked, looking solemn.

Akaashi could only smile and agree “We have”

“Alright let’s go. You’ve eaten the entire plate” Bokuto said as he waved at Chiyo bidding him goodbye, he held Akaashi’s hand leading him to a store that sold water. He drank it thankfully, feeling full.

As Bokuto was climbing on to the motorcycle, Akaashi couldn’t help but ask, “Bokuto?”

“Hmm?”

“What was the one I ate that looked like swirly pasta?”

“Why?” Bokuto turned to him slightly as he clambered on. “It was good” Akaashi admitted. Bokuto laughed "Oh that? That was chicken intestine”

“What?! Why didn’t you tell me?!”

Bokuto laughed and pulled out of the lot “You were wolfing the stuff down so fast, I didn’t have time to tell you.”

Akaashi grumbled “So the other stuff, what were they?”

“Nah those were just eggs, fish and..liver”

“Liver?!”

“And brains. And kidneys. And…balls-OW!” Bokuto screeched as Akaashi twisted the skin of his vulnerable stomach.

“I hate you” Akaashi mumbled shaking his head

“Ohoho?” Bokuto turned to him, “I’m hurt”

Akaashi pushed his head to the look forward “Eyes on the road please. I don’t want to die young.”

“Who does?” Bokuto chuckled earning him another painful twist to the stomach.

\------------------------------

“Are we there yet?” Akaashi asked looking out at the ocean seeing that the sun was almost close to setting, giving off pink and orange hues. It was probably six by now and Akaashi remembered his promise his mom he’d be home by 8.

Bokuto hummed thoughtfully as he kept his eyes on the road, “We’re almost there”

Akaashi didn’t reply, he wrapped his arms tightly around Bokuto, closing his eyes and resting his chin on his shoulder. “Are you tired?” Bokuto asked

“Not really” Akaashi whispered “Just savoring the moment, I guess. It’s not a regular occurrence for me to stroll around different places”

Bokuto laughed at that “What, do you live under a rock or something?”

“When I think about it, I kinda do.” Akaash said, remembering the fact that everyone at home expected him to be a responsible person, someone who could stand by himself and be a pillar for their country.

Bokuto breathed in sharply “Deep.”

They drove past a couple more fields, some with small houses on hills. Bokuto revved the engine as the proceeded to climb a steep strip of road, trees surrounding them blocking any view of the ocean and hills.

When they came into the clearing, it took all of Akaashi’s might not to gasp. Akaashi climbed down as Bokuto stopped the engine. He walked to the edge of the cliff and sat on a single wooden bench overlooking the sea.

“It’s so beautiful” Akaashi whispered as Bokuto sat beside him. All around them were ankle high grass with several patches of flowers that gave off such a beautiful scent, mixed with the breeze of the sea that they were currently facing. The sea was orange from the color of the sun setting in the horizon, fishing boats were no doubt going home for the day. The waves have rested; the sea looked at peace as though it was trying to mimic the feeling that bloomed in Akaashi’s chest. He felt content, free from the stress and worries he constantly had.

He didn’t notice Bokuto staring at him, watching him carefully. Every expression on his face, the  heavy breaths he took. Akaashi turned to look at Bokuto, his eyes sincere and feeling like everything was going great

“Bokuto, I-“ Akaashi couldn’t find the words to say. He wanted to thank him for this, for giving him a taste of freedom that he always wanted. For a person he’d just met, Bokuto made such an impact to him that made him wonder what in the ever loving heavens was planned for the two of them.

Bokuto smiled at him, “You don’t have to say anything. I understand” He said and turned to look at the slowly setting sun

Akaashi nodded slowly and did what Bokuto did. He leaned his head on Bokuto’s shoulder as though he was letting another person hold him up, letting himself be weightless in the face of everything. The sun set in front of them, carrying all their worries as it faded into the horizon.

\--------------------------------------------------------------

“You don’t know how thankful I am for today.” Akaashi said as he climbed off Bokuto’s bike; handing him the helmet and sparing him a smile. Like before, he asked to be dropped a couple of meters away from the main gate of their mansion automatically saying , “It’s just a coincidence, I guess. I run into you on days when I have meetings with some royals” Which Bokuto nodded at giving him a non-believing look

 Bokuto smiled at him warmly, hanging the helmet by the handlebars fishing his phone out of his pocket. “Nah, no biggie. If you want to repay me though, I’d gladly accept your number.”

Akaashi chuckled “Smooth” He held out his hand, taking the phone and typing his number quickly, handing it back to Bokuto. He turned away with one last wave and another “Thank you so much”. As he walked towards the main gate, he heard a toned down yelp of joy followed by the starting of an engine. Akaashi laughed to himself and approached the gates, instantly approached by the guards and a fuming Konoha. “Akaashi, where have you been?” He asked rather loudly

Akaashi nodded at him “Out”. Konoha crossed his arms, “I knew I shouldn’t have bought that drink. I’m glad I’m not dead right now, I owe my life to the queen”

Akaashi patted his shoulder walking past him, “That’s fine. I’m here now”

“Well what if you weren’t here now? Your father would have my head on a stick and barbecue it on medium heat!” “My ass would have been handed to me on a silver platter!” Konoha’s complaints went on and on.

Akaashi snorted, shaking his head as he stepped into the hall met by his father who looked furious and Akaashi braced himself for the upcoming sermon “Keiji! How irresponsible of you! You know how valuable your life is to us, to the country! You can’t just go out to god-knows-where without your guard. Who were you with anyway? Don’t tell me you were alone?”

“Dad, I’m fine. I was with a friend” Akaashi explained quietly, scuffing his boots on the marble floor.

Hayato snorted “Friend? Are you sure they were your friend? Maybe they were spies?”

“Dad, I’m perfectly capable of knowing who’s who.” Akaashi complained.

Hayato shook his head disbelievingly “You weren’t like this before, Keiji. You used to know what was best for you, you used to listen to my warnings. What’s happened to you?”

That was a low blow. Nothing happened for the past years of his life and that was the problem. He was now realizing how unhappy he was, with all the lessons he received in ruling the country, all the responsibilities he had in such a young age. At first he was fine with that but everything changed in a blink of an eye. He felt as though he was a pet being groomed, given everything he wanted except a tiny bit of freedom.

Akaashi shook his, breathing sharply “I grew up, dad” He said walking past his father “That’s what happened”

 

 

 


	4. In which Bokuto is safe

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is super rushed and short and unedited by I need to pick up the pace. The plot is so thirsty for attention. It requires constant tending and furthermore, it's a hoe ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯

Chapter 4

Bokuto hummed to himself as he took a shower in the morning feeling happy with yesterday’s events. When he saw the exasperation on Akaashi’s face he immediately thought of bringing him on a roadtrip to maybe lift his spirits and it was a fruitful plan.

When they rode to the town, Bokuto couldn’t help but notice the way Akaashi buried his face on his back, he noticed the generous smiles he’s been given and they way his form relaxed when he saw the sea. He remembered the blush that settled on Akaashi’s face when he gave him that bracelet. In truth, that was his bracelet once.

One day back in his first year in college when he was driving to the town, he noticed a new shop by the field, and bought the bracelet immediately when he saw its simplicity and the cute owl.

But the clasp broke the year after, he contemplated getting it fixed somewhere near but he felt as though it was wrong so during his next trip out of the city, he got it fixed in the same store told the lady to keep it with her after she’d fixed it and he’ll come back for it. And you know the rest.

Bokuto smiled at his reflection as he got dressed and gelled up his hair, remembering another thing about Akaashi: “His eyes were the most beautiful shade of green” He always thought they were black or brown but when Akaashi looked up at him the day before at the cliff, he noticed it.

Running a hand through his head as he looked at his phone and stared at Akaashi’s number, his contact name was ‘Green Eyes’. “Damn” He whispered and fell back on his bed with a loud thud, still holding his close to his face when suddenly it ringed, startling him into letting the object fall on his face. “Ow” He groaned as he picked it up and stared at the caller ID: Mom

He answered the call, holding it close to his ear “Hey mom!”

“Koutarou! I missed you! How are you, darling?” His mom cooed, making him chuckle “I missed you too, mom and I’m fine”

“Well that’s great. Guess what? We’re in the city today! Me and your dad!” His mom said enthusiastically

Bokuto bolted upright “Are you serious?” “Yes!” Bokuto put his shoes on and immediately got out of his room. He never saw his parents much when they started going to other cities and handling cases, save for times when they’d visit. “You’re in the house, right?” Bokuto asked referring to the house they owned just a couple of streets away from their apartment. He never really wanted to live there, even though his mom pestered him about it. It just felt wrong being there without his parents.

“Yes, you’re coming over right?” His mom sounded hopeful “Hell yeah I am” Bokuto exclaimed walking to his bike. “Koutarou! Language!” Bokuto rolled his eyes, “Yeah, yeah. I’ll be there in five, love ya” He dropped the call and immediately started the engine riding through a couple of streets and through traffic.

\----------------------------------------------------------

“Keiji?” He heard a voice come from outside his room. Akaashi stood up from his reading corner, making his way to open the door. He saw his mom standing there looking solemn “Are you alright, dear?”

Akaashi tilted his head “I’m fine mom.” Kiyoko gave him a small smile, “I’m sorry about your father. He just wants to keep you safe”

“I know, I know and I’m used to it” Akaashi gave her a reassuring smile

Kiyoko lifted a hand to his cheek “That’s great Keiji. But could you come with me to your father’s study for a while?” She asked quietly. Akaashi furrowed his brow “Yeah sure. What happened?” He asked as he followed his mom along the carpeted hallways of their house. “Something terrible is brewing around the noble ranks, Keij.” She explained briefly before stepping into the study, Akaashi followed suit and frowned more as he saw his father slumped by his table, there were two people in front of him dressed in suits looking grim.

“Dad?” Keiji asked as he stepped forward, giving his father a questioning look as he lifted his head. His mother approached his father standing by his side. “You can go now. Thank you for the information” Hayato said to the men who bowed and stepped out of the study quietly.

“Keiji” His father said as he sat in front of him. “What is it dad?”

His father took a deep breath “The earl, Hiro and his wife were murdered last night by a criminal group. They were cornered in an alley”

“Hiro?” Akaashi asked and frowned “Wasn’t he your second in command? Why was he murdered?”

“He was” Hayato said grimly “That was what I told you right?” Akaashi nodded “But there’s more to their family than being the second to us in the royal rank. They were the ones that manned Fukurodani’s underworld.” Akaashi remembered about the underworld. It wasn’t necessarily a place but more like a part of the country where criminals, mafias and the like thrived. His father had told him that while their family was the one manning the façade of their country, other people kept the insides tidy.

“Basically,” His mother spoke leaning on his father’s chair’s armrest. “They are our personal weapons. They do the dirty work for us”

Akaashi laughed dryly “You’re shitting me, right?”

His father looked at him pointedly, “No we’re not _shitting_ you, son”

“So they’re like assasins?” Akaashi asked incredulously “Why didn’t I know about this?”

“We told you about this already” His father said “No, you didn’t. You told me other people kept the underworld in check.” “Exactly” “Oh”

They were quiet for a couple of seconds before Akaashi cleared his throat, “So what exactly is the problem?”

“The problem is that both the earl and his wife are dead and there’s nobody manning the underworld.”

“Oh”

His father breathed in, “They have people but I doubt they’d be able to move without orders.”

“Why don’t you give them orders yourself then? You’re the king” Akaashi spread his arms to prove his point.

“I could but I doubt that’d be applicable since I already have my hands full I can’t handle both the underworld and the country. I can’t manage both the light and the shadow”

Akaashi thought he knew where this was going; he stood up eyes blazing “No. Don’t tell me you’re giving me the underworld, I’m only eighteen! I doubt I could order people to kill. I couldn’t live with that.”

“Keiji! Of course not! We won’t give you that burden” His mother was making his way to him, placing a hand on his shoulder “The throne, then? Don’t tell me you’re giving me the throne.”

His father rubbed his head as if he was getting a huge headache “Keiji, that’s not it. Stop jumping into conclusions.”

Akaashi breathed slowly “Okay-alright” He sat back down “So what is it, exactly?”

“We just need you to-“ His father started but was cut off by the shrill sound of Akaashi’s phone ringing. He took it out and stared at an unknown number. He frowned, who could this be? Nobody else knew his number except his parents and his security detail. He answered it, “Hello?”

He heard a sharp intake of breath “Akaashi? Where are you?” Akaashi frowned at the panic in the person’s voice before realizing who it was.

“Bokuto?”

 “Yes it’s me. Where are you?” the panic was still there, a sob tore through the receiver which made Akaashi frown even  more “I’m at home, why?”

He heard heavy breathing “Can you come over? Please? I really need someone to talk to.” Akaashi panicked for a brief second, wondering what was wrong when he heard that the usual cheeriness in Bokuto’s voice was gone and replaced by pure despair “Alright. Text me the address, I’ll be there in a couple of minutes” the line went dead and he stood up

“I really have to go. You guys can tell me later.”

“Where are you going?” His father started to stand up

“My friend needs me dad. Please just let me go” Akaashi mustered all his desperation as he said that. His father nodded seeming to understand.

 Akaashi nodded and ran out of the room, kind of raping the elevator button before it opened and carried him to the ground floor. He dashed out of the hall and to the garage where his car was parked. The door was already open for him and the key was already in place. He started the engine and backed out of the lot, seeing his security detail climbing on their bikes in the corner of his eye. He sped off after seeing the address that he received.

\----------------------------------------------------

 

Bokuto got to the house in record time, staring at its simple façade. A two-storey house painted grey, black and white with a small courtyard. He opened the gates himself and drove to the foyer, stepping off his bike he frowned at the cars parked in front of their house. There were  two of them, one was his parents’ car and the other he didn’t know. He was sure his parents  never drove separately.

“Mom?” He called out quietly as he entered, looking around the house which remained pristine thanks to their caretaker. Bokuto frowned, he fully expected his mom to welcome him with open arms but no, he was greeted by the silence of their house.

He climbed the staircase and that’s when he heard the voices that came from his parents’ office. He frowned walking quietly, his boots thudding silently on the carpet.

When he neared the office, he heard it loud and clear, “You can’t take him from us, he’s our son!” He heard his mother exclaim. What in the world? “The current circumstances say that we can. This was already agreed on.” A rough voice spoke.

“Can’t we change that? I’m sure there are other ways to fix this problem” This time it was his father that replied. “I’m sorry attorney but a settlement is a settlement, you should know that.” Bokuto has had enough of eavesdropping, so he walked into the room scanning the people in front of him. His parents were both standing while a dark-haired man in a suit sat on the sofa.

“What’s this about?” Bokuto  blurted

“Koutarou! Didn’t I text you not to come?” His mother scrambled towards him, pushing him out of the door lightly. “I didn’t check my phone” He did just that and sure enough there was a message from his mom, telling him not to visit as of that moment.

“Koutarou Bokuto.” The man from the sofa stood up, eyeing him curiously.

Bokuto stepped forward despite his mom’s protest “That’s me. Why?”

“Son-“ his father started but was silenced by the dark haired man with a firm “Attorney. Your son needs to know. Besides, I’m taking him home.”

“Home, what are you talking about?” Bokuto eyed the man suspiciously, “I am home.”

“Not exactly” The man stood in front of him, holding out his hand “I’m Junko Kuroo.”

Bokuto didn’t take his hand, “Kuroo?” As if on cue someone walked into the room “Dad, we have to-“ Bokuto whipped his head around and saw Kuroo standing by the door, clearly as surprised at him.

“Kuroo, what are you doing here?” He asked his best friend who blanched and stared at him “Bro-“ Kuroo started to walk towards him but was stopped by a an arm Junko held out, “Tetsurou, stop.” Kuroo obliged but he was still looking at Bokuto with guilt in his eyes.

“Wait.” Bokuto held up a hand and pinched the middle of his eyes. “You just said, ‘Dad’.” He asked Kuroo. “Yes, I am Tetsurou’s father.” Junko spoke but Bokuto ignored him and looked accusingly at Kuroo, “But you said your father left you when you were two.” He spoke slowly. Kuroo swallowed visibly, “Bro-I can explain.”

Bokuto shook his head and ran a hand across his face, asking to nobody in particular, “You said something earlier about letting me know. What is this all about?”

“Kou, you better sit down” His mother took his arm and led him to the sofa motioning for him to sit down which he did reluctantly. His parents took their seats on either sides of him while Kuroo and Junko sat across them.

Nobody spoke for a couple of seconds before Junko took it upon himself to explain. “Your real parents died recently and as the settlement states, you are to be brought home after their demise.”

“Junko-please” There was desperation in his mother’s voice.

Bokuto tilted his head, “What? My real parents? What about them?”

Junko looked at Bokuto’s parents, “I thought you already told him about this?” He turned to Kuroo, “Tetsurou?” Kuroo just stayed silent looking at his hands.

“You guys knew my real parents?” He asked and looked at his mom then his dad who nodded. “So all you said about me being placed on your doorstep was complete bullshit?” His mother flinched.

“Koutarou” She started, staring at her hands before breathing deep and speaking, “We knew them even before you were born. We were their lawyers.”

“Who are _they?_ ”

“The earl and his wife.”

Bokuto gaped before shaking his head laughing disbelievingly “There are many earls in this country, mom”

His mother shook his head, “They, your parents, were the most high-ranked royals, next to the king and his immediate family.”

“High-ranked? Aren’t there dukes that have bigger shit than earls?”

His mother breathed deep and shook her head “They were…different”

Bokuto didn’t speak after that. His head was spinning. His parents were royals? Not just royals, they were almost a high-ranked as the king. That was the last thing he expected to hear. When Bokuto remained silent, his mother continued, “Your mother was pregnant with you when they heard news of a group plotting against your family.”

“Why? What did they do?”

His father spoke this time, “They worked under the king’s command; stopped mafias, got information about certain events, put down criminals that were being too bothersome. For short, they were like hitmen and investigators put together. So naturally, many criminal groups loathed them and wanted to put an end to them but they were too strong for that. Atleast, before. Around the time when you were born, some criminals managed to evade their ranks. Many of their best men were killed and that almost drove your mother to insanity.” His father stopped,

That’s when his mother spoke, “She feared for the safety of her child. So she convinced your father to send you away for the time-being or until you were old enough, just to make sure that when you returned you’d be safe. We were there when they talked about that and like we said before-“ His mother reached over to clutch his father’s hand,

“We didn’t have children; so we offered to take care of you. But there was a consequence to that. Your father feared for the state of his line and where it would end up so we agreed that if they were to die, his men would you take you back and teach you to continue what they started.  Of course they made sure first that their ranks were as strong as possible when they’d die.”

Junko spoked suddenly “We are stronger now more than ever. You’re probably thinking ‘But if the ranks are that strong, how come your leaders died?’. And the answer to that is that they were the ones being hunted and not the others. They wanted to be selfless and not risk any more lives protecting them and because of that they ended up dead. They were being stupid” Junko spoked bitterly.

Bokuto didn’t want to think about all this. He needed something to take the wallowing pit in his stomach’s place.“What about Kuroo?” Bokuto asked silently, head down. He saw Kuroo in his peripheral visio, running a hand over his face.

“I asked him to watch over you when you when you were kids, enrolling you into the same school, that way we’d know your whereabouts and your safety.” Bokuto remembered it clearly when he approached the dark-haired boy when he was in third grade. He made friends with that dark-haired boy and spent pretty much every day with him.

“Tetsurou trained himself when you reached high school so that he could protect you better because even though we know your identity was safe, there were still people that left the ranks after you were born and they knew your mother was pregnant.” Junko had continued his speech but Bokuto couldn’t hear it. His ears were ringing and felt like they were about to pop.

His mother spoke quietly, placing a hand on his “Koutarou I know this is a lot to take in-“  

Bokuto didn’t want to hear it, “It sure as hell is! I mean, what the fuck?!” He roared standing up running a hand through his hair “You lied to me this whole time!” He shouted at his parents, “ You tell me I’m the son of an earl, but not just a regular one, but a hitman! A freaking _hitman_! So forgive me if I say it is more than a lot to take in! And that’s not all because surprise, surprise! My best friend is in on it too!”  Kuroo winced like he just got slapped.

“Bro-“

 “Save it! Damn, I can’t believe this shit. I’m done” Bokuto stormed out of the room as he shakingly took his phone from his pocket, dialing the only person he could talk to tears threatened to spill from his eyes. He had hard time breathing.

 It ringed for a couple of minutes as he went inside the downstairs bathroom, sitting inside the tub hugging his legs to his chest- he didn’t trust himself to drive at that point.

The phone ringed again before it was answered, he spoke immediately, “Akaashi? Where are you?” ,there was a pregnant pause before he answered ,“Bokuto?” . Bokuto nodded even though he knew Akaashi couldn’t see him, “Yes it’s me. Where are you?”  He tried his best not to sob.

 “I’m at home, why?” Akaashi sounded alarmed

 “Can you come over? Please? I really need someone to talk to.” Bokuto was being too desperate now but he badly needed someone because he felt like if this went on with him alone, he’d go crazy.

 “Alright. Text me the address, I’ll be there in a couple of minutes” Bokuto ended the call and typed up the address immediately. He leaned onto the tub, everything was messed up. He expected Kuroo to barge into the bathroom and say, ‘Gotcha bro!’ but he didn’t.  His sobs and heavy breathing echoed inside the bathroom along with the beat of his heart that rapped in his ears.

 

 

 


	5. In which Bokuto goes to a café

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! Please read the notes before reading. Thank you :*
> 
> a) Bokuto and Kuroo are both 20 while Akaasi and Kenma are 19. I might have implied that Akaashi was 18 in the last chapters but he's not.
> 
> b) I will switch calling the count 'earl' because now that I think about it, count sounds pretty ominous and all I could imagine was seeing Bokuto with a cape and baring his fangs. Rawr
> 
> c) This is set on May-June because I referred to Bokuto and Kuroo's graduation
> 
> Alright you can now read in peace

Chapter 5

Bokuto hummed silently as he waited for Akaashi's text. He stayed like that with his knees drawn to his chest until he heard a knock come from the door followed by a faint, "Bo? You there?" It was Kuroo.

Bokuto didn't answer but he got up trying to make as little noise as possible. He cursed himself and all the bathroom gods because as he took hold of the sink, he managed to take the shower curtain with him effectively tearing the thin plastic. The noise echoed loudly making him cringe, "Fuck." 

"Bro" Kuroo knocked continuously "Let's talk."

Bokuto walked reluctantly towards the door. He opened it slightly, a single eye peering from the crack, "You lied to me, bro." He said accusingly. Kuroo looked away and rubbed the back of his head, "I know."

Bokuto opened the door widely before stepping out, walking past Kuroo who groaned and ran a hand through his hair.

Bokuto went to the main door and stepped outside, leaning on the railing as he peered at the yard. Kuroo followed him slowly standing behind him quietly.

"So," Bokuto started and turned his head towards Kuroo, "Thirteen years? You lied to me for thirteen years?" 

Kuroo stayed quiet, "I didn't have a choice, bro. You were safer when you didn't know."

"Maybe I have been safe for all these years, but did you even feel a single thing for lying to my face every single day? Huh, bro?" Bokuto spat as he turned, making Kuroo cringe as if he'd just been slapped

"Like I said," Kuroo tried to reason with him, "I didn't have a choice!"

Bokuto shook his head "No, you had a choice, but you were scared. I know it. You could have told me!"

"I'm not talking to you when you're like this bro." Kuroo waved a hand dismissively "You're not gonna listen."

Bokuto rubbed his temple, "See, that's the thing with you Kuroo" He said through clenched teeth "You assume things. You tell me I won't listen but I will. You say I'd be safer but maybe telling me wouldn't have changed a thing!"

"It would have, Bokuto! It sure as hell would have. You're that kind of person who gets hurt easily." Kuroo stepped forward staring Bokuto in the eyes, "You're pissed because you feel left out."

"Yes! Yes I am!" Bokuto turned on his heel and stepped out of the porch, he turned to Kuroo with a solemn face and said "I'm that kind of person."

He could hear Kuroo calling for him from behind but he continued walking. He brought out his phone and saw that Akaashi texted him. 

From: Green Eyes  
Bokuto, I'm almost there. Please wait by the street outside, this place has lots of identical houses.

Bokuto almost laughed at that. He tried to imagine Akaashi twisting his head back and forth trying to look for the right house.

To: Green Eyes  
@_@ why are u txting wyl driving?!

To: Green Eyes  
btw im already outside ^_^

Bokuto stared at his phone as he walked on the sidewalk, he spared a glance at his house and saw that the porch was empty. Kuroo must have went inside. He sighed and sat on a bench that conveniently appeared in his line of sight.

He stared at an electric post across the road thinking deeply. He'd probably regret his argument with Kuroo given that they never really fought each other except those 'bro i got dibs on the hottie'. His stomach twisted thinking of how he'd might just have ruined his friendship with Kuroo.

He knew he was being unreasonable himself but it was hard to accept that the person whom you trusted for almost your entire life has been lying to you, faking his own story when he himself had given out all his secrets. Well, the secrets he knew.

Bokuto continued his musings when suddenly a sleek, matte, black car stopped in front of him blocking his vision of the electric post he'd been staring at for quite some time

He squinted at the tinted window of the passenger's seat when it rolled down revealing a frowning Akaashi from the driver's. 

"Akaashi!" He jumped up and smiled at him "Nice car." He said sticking his head inside to admire the leather interior.

Akaashi only hummed, "Get inside.". Bokuto did as told and sat down, fidgeting.

"So," Akaashi turned his torso to look at him; a hand on the steering wheel and car still stalling. He gave Bokuto a sharp look and scanned his expression "What's wrong?"

Oh shit. Yeah, that.

"No-nothing." Bokuto replied staring at the street and fiddling with his hands that were placed between his thighs.

Akaashi turned to look at the street and started the car, "I don't think so." He drove silently and then "You call me sounding frantic and I see you staring intently at an electric post like it held all the secrets in the world." He gestured with a single hand as if to prove his point "Not to mention, you don't seem as upbeat as usually are."

Bokuto sighed and shook his head, "I'm sorry for this, 'Kaashi. It's just-" Bokuto tried to search for a word to describe his current predicament, "Complicated."

Akaashi just raised an eyebrow, still not looking at him. 

"I can't-" Bokuto started

"Why me?" Akaashi frowned at the street as he changed lanes, "Why'd you call me, why not someone else?"

Bokuto looked shocked and cursed himself. Akaashi must have really been busy and Bokuto being the idiot that he was, didn't think of it before calling out to him.

"I'm sorry Akaashi. I'm sorry for bothering you, really." Bokuto sighed rubbing his head slightly, "You were the only person I figured-could talk to and-"

"So talk" Akaashi retorted finally sparing him a glance "You know what, I know a place. You can tell me there."

Bokuto nodded, "Okay."

Akaashi nodded too and continued driving to the more subdued part of the city. He stopped in front of a simple café with a wooden sign that said, "Anteiku". 

They got out of the car and went inside immediately greeted by the scent of coffee. There were no customers inside save for a single boy that was playing with a handheld game.

A little girl bounded towards them and held out her arms for Akaashi, she smiled widely and said, "Prin-" Akaashi suddenly muffled her mouth with a hand. Bokuto frowned but didn't say a word.

"Now what did I say about calling me that, Hina?" Akaashi said smiling slightly. An old man approached them with crinkled eyes and a faint smile. He placed a hand on Hina's shoulder, "Hina, why don't you go and help Nick clean the counter." Hina nodded and headed towards the counter where a 100% done, blonde man offered her a rag.

"Akaashi, sorry for that." The man said, "Why don't the both of you take a seat and I'll make sure Ken takes your order."

Akaashi only nodded and thanked the man before they went to a booth and sat down. Not long after, a boy with a medical eyepatch-Ken, Bokuto guessed who looked their age approached them with a faint smile. He offered them laminated menus that could kill flies and they ordered. Double shot latte for Bokuto and plain black coffee for Akaashi.

When the boy left, the both of them looked uncomfortable. Both looking at different places just not the other person. It was quiet in the café except for the faint sound of dripping coffee and classical piano. A shrill sound cut through their silence making both Akaashi and Bokuto jump. Akaashi reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. 

He looked at Bokuto apologetically, "It's my dad. I have to take this."

"Sure, sure." Bokuto waved his hand wildly, "I don't mind."

Akaashi nodded and walked outside. Bokuto looked at him and smiled as he said to himself, 'I'm quite lucky to have spent some time with such a beautiful person' 

A voice from inside his head retorted, 'It's not a date though'

'You think I don't know that?!'

'Well..'

Bokuto sighed, "I'm going crazy." He said out loud as he stared at Akaashi from the glass window of the café.

\------

"Dad?" Akaashi said as he got out of the café, wincing at the brightness of the sun.

"Son! I am proud of you!" His father exclaimed making him take the phone away from his ear.

Akaashi frowned in confusion, "What? Why?"

"For doing such a job well done! I didn't know you could do something that fast." His father said proudly, he could hear the beam in his voice.

Akaashi pinched the spot between his eyes, "Dad, I don't know what you're talking about."

"Oh stop pretending you don't. Take some credit" His father chuckled, "I know you're with the earl's son right now. Your security detail informed me of that."

"Earl's son? What are you talking about dad?" Akaashi shook his head 

His father took a deep, excited breath, "You remember what I said earlier about giving you a single job?" 

"Yeah-?"

"Well, I was about to tell you to look for the late earl's son. Turns out his wife gave birth just after the last rank disruption and his child was sent away for safety." He explained thoroughly before exclaiming, "And yet again it turns out that I didn't have to have you look for the next couple of days because you already found him!"

The gears of his head turned at an alarming rate and then, "What the-? Are you sure, dad?"

"I think my eyes don't fail me, Keiji" The king said in a matter-of-fact voice. "He came to the café with you, right? The resemblance is too clear and the documents match his appearance. Although the black and white streaks are something I might expect of the earl's child. I expect him to be a delinquent but no matter."

Akaashi turned to look at Bokuto from inside the café who waved enthusiastically at him before pointing at the drinks that he assumed just arrived. Akaashi waved back before turning away to speak to his dad, "We'll talk about this later, dad. And I don't believe he's the earl's son." 

His father laughed, "Oh, he is. But anyway, we'll talk."

Akaashi nodded even though his father couldn't see him, "Alright." He said and hung up. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath before turning on his heel to walk back into the café and slide back into the booth.

"What's wrong?" Bokuto asked as he sipped his latte. 

Akaashi straightened up and tried to keep his face stoic, "Nothing." Bokuto raised an eyebrow at him but didn't say anything as he tipped the cup back making the foam stick to his lips and to his nose. Akaashi snorted and pointed at his own upper lip. 

Bokuto seemed to understand because he used his tongue to lick off the foam making Akaashi roll his eyes, before taking some tissue from the table and wiping the foam off himself. Bokuto seemed surprised because he jumped on the seat. Akaashi registered what he was doing and he felt his face grow hot. Damn that was too sappy.

He sat back and cleared his throat, "Enough about me. Now tell me, what really happened?"

Bokuto ran a hand through his hair, "Well, I just found out that I've been lied to my whole life. I just found out that my adoptive parents lied to me about my real parents and my best friend in the whole world hid his true identity and stuff."

Akaashi's eyes widened. He thought he knew where this was going. So what his father said was true? No, Akaashi. Maybe this is just one of those uncanny coincidences, he said to himself. He nodded internally before asking, "Can you please be more specific? I promise I'll take this as best as I can."

Bokuto nodded and smiled forcefully, "So I just found out that my dad was a royal. Turns out he was an assassin earl or something." 

Holy shit. It was true.

Akaashi kept a straight face, "Go on."

Bokuto looked at him with a why-r-u-taking-dis-so-easily look. He shook his head and started again, "Yeah so my father was a count or earl or whatever and when I was born, it was during a hard time in their ranks. My mother gave me to my adoptive mom and dad who were their lawyers. And shit, the other members want me to take their place after they died. I can't escape 'cause there was some sort of agreement or contract." He took a deep breath, "And that's not all. My best friend was told to be with me ever since we were kids so that the others could keep track ad protect me or something. It sucks."

Akaashi nodded slowly. So, Bokuto was indeed the heir of the earl? And considering the situation he'll be forced to take charge of the ranks and this means he'll have to work closely with the king. And the heir of the king is Akaashi, which means he'll have to work closely with Bokuto and Bokuto doesn't know he's the prince. Holy shit. 

Bokuto shrugged, "You know I've always hate the royals."

Akaashi winced but not visibly enough, he cleared his throat and asked "How come?"

"I don't know. Maybe it's because they're all up there without having to climb, yanno?" Bokuto lifted his hand indicating his point. "And in a blink of an eye, I'm one of them. But I don't want to be." Bokuto's voice droned out as he stared at Akaashi who was in deep thought.

He never really thought of it that way-being a royal. He never considered what normal people thought of their position in the monarch but now that he's talking to one it all made sense. They were more or less born in greatness whereas other people needed to work for it.

"I understand." He whispered absentmindedly. What would Bokuto think if he found out Akaashi was one of the royals, just like him? And that's not all, he's the heir to the entire throne. Bokuto would find out eventually but he recalled what Bokuto had said earlier. He seemed like a person who hated being lied to and that was exactly what Akaashi's been doing.

Should I tell him? How do I even do it? Come on Akaashi, where are your balls.

Bokuto stayed silent until Akaashi stood up all of the sudden after placing a couple of bills on top the table.

I'm going to tell him, he thought. He texted his mom telling her to order security to stop following him. He eyed as the motorcycles parked outside the cafe looking pretty discreet drove away one by one.

"Bokuto, I need to tell you something." he whispered and walked away knowing Bokuto would follow him. They walked to the car with Bokuto fidgeting and bouncing on the balls of his feet. He kept asking what it was and how the suspense is killing him.

Bokuto kept shaking his shoulder, "Come ooon Akaashi tell meee."

"Will you please stop that, I'm driving." Akaashi said, using a single hand to slap away Bokuto's who refused to stop shaking him. Akaashi looked like a jack-in-the-box swaying side to side, his arms repeatedly hitting the car door.

"Not until you tell me!" Bokuto retorted.

Akaashi rolled his eyes and took a breath to calm himself, "I'm gonna show you. So stop that."

"Okay!" Bokuto stopped and relaxed to his seat, smiling widely and his face brightening. 

There it was, Akaashi thought, that smile. 

They were near the destination now and every time Akaashi changed gears, his heart beat faster. Bokuto will found out in a couple more minutes and Akaashi couldn't help but run scenarios in his head. 

A) Bokuto will be pissed about being lied to (most likely)  
B) Bokuto will be okay with it and say it's alright  
C) Bokuto will-

"Where are we going Akaashi?" Bokuto asked enthusiastically. Akaashi focused on the surroundings and realized they were a few meters away from the rest house. Bokuto spoke again, "Where-?"

Akaashi just hummed and drove towards the gate which opened after he typed the code. He drove around the courtyard and parked the car in front of the staircase. Their 'rest house' was relatively smaller than the mansion. It had two floors yet the design was grand which pissed him off. He asked for a house that looked normal, not a toned-down version of their mansion.

"Woah~" Bokuto said as he stepped out staring at the house with wide eyes, "Is this your house?"

Akaashi just shrugged and walked up the stairs while Bokuto stumbled and followed him. The double doors opened with another code and Akaashi pushed them open revealing the living room. 

"Holy-" Bokuto cursed and looked around. Akaashi placed a hand on his forehead, damn did he mention that the house was too much? Because it was.

Akaashi asked Bokuto to sit down which he followed, plopping down and saying, "My ass feels so free."

Akaashi snorted and went to the kitchen, taking out bottles of juice from the steel fridge and walking back to the living room.

He cursed as he saw Bokuto eyeing a painting of him and his parents back when he was younger. He prayed that Bokuto didn't recognize him yet.

"Bokuto." He said making Bokuto stand up. He completely ignored Akaashi and walked to the painting. There were also several photos lined up on the walls because his mother insisted of having them there.

Bokuto eyed the pictures and he stopped at the biggest and latest one which was taken about a month ago. It was a life-sized picture which was partially hidden with a curtain. Akaashi never knew why pictures required curtains but his mother was a scary person to question.

The revealed part of the picture only showed his parents. His father seated on his throne, wearing the royals regalia and his mother wearing a large red gown. Akaashi himself was still hidden under the curtain. 

Boktuo took it upon himself to bring back the curtain entirely revealing Akaashi standing behind his father a hand on the throne looking unimpressed, wearing a black button down and slacks.

Bokuto drew a sharp breath and stared at Akaashi in the picture with wide eyes, his mouth opening and closing. He looked at Akaashi, then at the painting.

"You probably get it by now." Akaashi whispered scuffing his shoes on the carpeted floor

Bokuto nodded and ran a hand through his hair, he turned to Akaashi and asked "You're the prince?"

Akaashi breathed deeply and said, "Yeah."

Bokuto nodded, and continued to stare at the picture "You're so-" 

"I know, I know." Akaashi waved a hand as he explained, looking at his shoes, "You're probably pissed right now and-"

"Beautiful."

Akaashi's head snapped up and he stared at Bokuto with wide eyes, "What?"

Bokuto seemed to snap out of his reverie. He shook his head, "Nothing."

Akaashi tilted his head. Did he just call him, beautiful? Akaashi didn't pay the thought much attention

"I'm sorry for not telling you." Akaashi explained placing a hand on his shoulder

Bokuto turned to him and smiled forcedly, "No, no. It's fine. I mean- it's okay I'm just a stranger to you and you shouldn't feel forced by me or something."

Akaashi wanted to argue about him being a 'stranger' but he stopped himself. What would he say that they were? Yes, they might fall under the 'friends' category but it doesn't change the fact that they only hung out with each other twice and mainly because of certain coincidences. Maybe the word 'friend' was too much. Acquaintances would probably suffice.

"Thank you." Akaashi mumbled as he offered the can he was still holding "For understanding."

Bokuto smiled and took it, "It's nothing. You don't owe me anything."

This time, Akaashi couldn't stop himself from blurting out, "But I do."

Bokuto gave him a puzzled look, "What?"

"You took me on an adventure, remember?" Akaashi lifted his lips. He's going down the emotional route, that's for sure "You made me feel the freedom I've been dying to feel."

Akaashi could see Bokuto's eyes widen dramatically, his jaw slackened, "That was nothing, really" He smiled sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head 

"It wasn't nothing for me." Akaashi mumbled quietly enough that he's sure Bokuto didn't hear him.

"What was that?"

Akaashi waved his hand, "Nothing. It's just, I'm thankful for that you know. You showed me different places, brought me this adorable bracelet" Akaashi lifted the sleeve of his sweater to show him the bracelet on his wrist. Bokuto smiled widely and Akaashi continued, "You made me try new things, eat new kinds of food-"

"Even if they were sheep balls?"

"Even so. I hate you for that though." Akaashi eyed him menacingly, Bokuto held his hands up in surrender and said, "Guilty as charged."

Akaashi scoffed, "So yeah, I kind of owe you something."

Bokuto folded his arms over his chest. Akaashi pretended not to notice the way the muscles in his arms bulged because that would be against the law.

"So you owe me?" Bokuto said happily, "Then I guess I'll have to think of something to repay the debt."

Akaashi shrugged, "As long as it's within reason."

"I'm always within reason!" Bokuto argued

"I doubt that."

"Rude!" Bokuto exclaimed, "You know what, you've still got a lot of explaining to do. You're the prince and holy shit-" Bokuto's eyes widened but Akaashi stopped him from talking to tell him they'd better sit down. They shuffled into the kitchen, facing each other on the opposite sides of the marble counter.

"So, uh, I told how much I hated royals, right?" Bokuto asked sheepishly "But that doesn't mean I hate you. I just hate royals in general." He said defensively

Akaashi raised an eyebrow, "But I'm part of the 'general', aren't I? And so are you."

Bokuto raised his hands in surrender, "Yeah, yeah. But,, yeah."

They spent almost an hour talking about mostly Akaashi's life as a royal but also about Bokuto having to take over his real father's position as the next earl. 

" I don't wanna do it. I'm fine with my life now." Bokuto whined as he banged his head repeatedly on the counter, "And even if I did, I can't even protect myself and I can't order people to kill other people. I couldn't live with myself."

Akaashi understood what he felt. He wouldn't know what he'd do if he were in Bokuto's position. He's not even ready for the responsibility he'd known he'd take ever since he was young what more if he suddenly got such a thing dumped onto his shoulders like it was nothing.

He sighed and reached over to pat Bokuto's shoulder, "You'll be fine, I promise. And you're not particularly going to kill people all the time. Just stop them in any way possible except by killing them, if that's what you want. But I don't think that can be avoided at all."

Bokuto lifted his head to stare at him, "Even so, I can't do that. I'm weak and useless. I can't even do anything properly other than slacking off. I'd screw everything up."

"Now you won't" Akaashi said sternly, squeezing his shoulder, "I know you won't. You'd do great."

Bokuto seemed to lighten up a bit, "You think so?"

"I know so" Akaashi reassured him "And don't worry, I'll be advising you since when I take over, you'll be my second in command."

"Woah, seriously?" Bokuto straightened up, his smile widening, "That'd be awesome."

Akaashi reassured him with a nod. They decided that they both needed to get home since Akaashi's father has been calling him nonstop for the past half hour. They parted their ways after Akaashi dropped Bokuto off. They agreed that Bokuto needed time to think before he actually visited his father's place and he'd asked Akaashi to tell his father to stop Junko from visiting him. Akaashi gave him Junko's number in case he was ready.

\-----

Bokuto spent an entire week by himself, leaving the apartment when his friends went home and going home when he'd known they were all out. He hasn't talked to them at all except for that single time he talked with Daichi who decided to stay in the city and he clearly stated that, "It's not because of Suga. What the hell are you talking about". Bokuto didn't believe him. Daichi told him that Oikawa found a job in a private clinic and Ushijima was still training. When Daichi mentioned Kuroo, asking Bokuto if he knew where the man was making Bokuto flinch and say he didn't know.

Bokuto hasn't seen Kuroo in that entire week that he sulked and thought things through. Bokuto only received several texts from the man which he promptly ignored. He kept talking to Akaashi through the phone though. He'd constantly text him good morning messages and the occasional meme which Akaashi expressed his annoyance to. They didn't meet in person because as Akaashi stated, he needed to think through things seriously which Bokuto did almost all the time as he strolled the park.

Oh, he'd also been receiving texts from Junko despite knowing that the king already forbade him to do so. Mostly they were constant reminders of their ranks having problems without having a leader to receive direct communication with the king.

Bokuto sighed and sat down on the bench, "No matter how much I think this through, I still wouldn't have a choice." He said to himself.

He took out his phone and sent Junko a quick text, "I'm ready"


	6. In which Bokuto becomes the boss

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bro

Chapter 6

_Shit. I can't do this. I gotta run._

_What do I do?_

_Maybe I should call the police, tell them I'm being kidnapped. Yep, that's a great idea, Bokuto._

_Should I jump out of the window? I'll probably be hospitalized and hospital food takes like shi-_

"Koutarou? Are you alright dear?" His mother asked all of the sudden making Bokuto give a not very manly squeak and he wheezed out, "I'm fine."

His mother didn't look convinced though but she turned back to look at the road.

His father drove while Kuroo's father sat on the front seat leaving him and his mother in the back. Bokuto silently wondered where Kuroo was.

Today was the day Bokuto was supposed to meet the king. He'd texted Junko yesterday about him being ready but he sure doubted his own words.

He was scared and he'd cracked his fingers so many times now in the span of 10 minutes and now his left index finger refused to crack for the fourth time so he kept on pressing down on it due to his growing anxiety.

He became very jittery and easily startled since he woke up on that day so it wasn't really a surprise that he jumped when his father spoke out loud that they were already there.

Bokuto looked around at the window and saw that they were still outside the gates. The guards approached the car but immediately opened them when they saw his father.

A knot twisted in his stomach when he saw Akaashi standing on top of the marble stairs beside two people who Bokuto presumed were his parents. The king and the queen. Crap. Mommy I wanna go home.

When the car stopped his mother turned to him and squeezed his quivering hand, giving him a reassuring yet sad smile.

The four of them got out of the car and went over to where the king and the queen were standing.

Up close, they looked really simple, much to Bokuto's surprise. The royal family were wearing jeans and shirts.

They would have passed as normal people except for the fact that they were wearing crowns (except for Akaashi) and that regal aura that they had, seeming so put together and holding a different level of beauty.

Bokuto also noticed the aura from Akaashi from the first time they met. He always seemed composed and dare he say it, he acted like there was a stick up his ass most of the time. If Akaashi'd found out that he'd said that, he would have him castrated and would serve his balls to him on a silver platter.

He shook the horrifying thought out of his head as he climbed the stairs trailing behind his parents and Junko. Akaashi spared him a glance when he was face to face with the royal family and gave him a reassuring nod.

"Bokuto Koutarou! Pleasure to meet you!" The king boomed, his voice echoing inside his head as the said person held out a hand. Bokuto shook it and smiled slightly, "The pleasure's all mine." He heard Akaashi snort when he heard the all-too-formal phrase from Bokuto.

The king laughed and said, "Nice, firm grip. That's a good sign. And my, you look just like your father! But the hair is pretty unique if I do say so my self."

Bokuto fidgeted and said, "Umm, thanks?"

The queen suddenly pushed her husband out of the way, "I'm sorry for that...." "Umm, you can call me Bokuto" The queen nodded, "I'm Akaashi Kiyoko and that infernal midget is my husband, Akaashi Hayato" The queen said gently keeping a pretty stoic face as she said that. They were met by protests of the king saying that being 6"3 does not count as being a midget. The queen stayed undeterred and she looked so done it's no question now where Akaashi got his indifference.

Bokuto smiled widely at her, "It's nice to meet you."

Kiyoko nodded, "And I assume you already met our son, Keiji?" She said turning to said man who nodded earnestly. Bokuto answered, "Yes. Yes I have."

The queen smiled a bit and damn was she beautiful. Akaashi really got that from his mother well maybe, he got it tenfold. "Very well. It's a pleasure to meet you, Bokuto. Now, why don't we all head inside and discuss more pressing matters" She said turning to Bokuto's parents and Junko with a meaningful nod.

They all went inside. Bokuto going last because he hated to admit it but he was scared shitless. Akaashi seeming to notice slowed his pace to fall into step with Bokuto.

Akaashi poked Bokuto's hand sending a slight jolt of electricity to the man's arm making him turn to look at Akaashi. He gave him a faint nod and a slight lift to his lips, "You'll be fine, Bokuto." He reassured him, squeezing his hand briefly and letting go. He was sure both their cheeks were red at that point.

Bokuto clutched the hand Akaashi held and lifted it to his chest. The action somehow made him feel a little bit better.

They were lead to a room with a wooden seven-seater table.

"Please take a seat." Kiyoko said gesturing to the table, "Snacks will be brought."

They sat down with the king on the head of the table while the six of them scattered on the sides. Kiyoko sat on the left side with Junko and Bokuto's father. Akaashi quietly told Bokuto to sit beside him as he took a seat on his father's right side followed by Bokuto and then by his mother.

The king cleared his throat, "So let's start. We all know that Bokuto here is the biological son of the late earl, Hiro. And we all know what his line of work was." They were quiet and Bokuto slumped in his seat.

"Pardon me, but doesn't my son have a choice on whether or not he wants to take the responsibility?" His mother spoke up. Bokuto slumped even further.

Junko sighed across him, "We've been through this, attorney. You signed an agreement that if the earl and his wife were to die you'd give up your rule over Bokuto."

"But that was before! We can't just let a piece of paper control my son's life!" His mother was furious now. Bokuto turned to her and laid a hand on hers giving her a sad smile.

"Forgive me for saying this but technically, he isn't your son" The king said quietly making his mother flinch. Bokuto wanted to argue to that but the king held up his hand which silenced him effectively, "I mean well. But we can't escape the fact that biologically he isn't your son. Sure, he may be yours by heart but to put it straight you were never the real ones."

Bokuto winced at that and clutched his mother's hand tightly. Junko nodded to that and brought out the suitcase that he seemed to carry almost everwhere, "His records all state that his parents were the earl and his wife. Here's his birth certificate, school records and pretty much every document that contained information about him."

Bokuto looked at his father questioningly because records he saw when he passed them for volleyball club were all named before them and his father sighed, "We managed to fake the records for your schools and if they knew they never questioned. They knew our affiliation with the earl."

Akaashi who'd been silent all this time finally spoke up, "We need to know if Bokuto wants to do it because if he doesn't, he can be protected by his rights despite the contracts that were signed only by his parents."

"Wait, I can?" Bokuto asked tilting his head to look at Akaashi, "I can avoid this?"

Junko gave Akaashi a mean look before saying, "Yes you can. But your parents can't. It was them who signed after all."

Bokuto blanched before turning to the king, "Can't you do something about this? You're the king."

The king shook his head, "It's not that easy. I helped make these laws and I can't turn back on them. Even if I did, people would hear about such a setback and you and your parents will have to face enemies that have suffered under said laws."

"So to cut it short, there's nothing I can do?" Bokuto asked the king. He shook his head promptly. Akaashi laid a comforting hand on his arm and whispered lowly, "You'll be fine." Bokuto nodded to that.

They were all silent for a long time before Bokuto spoke, "I've already thought this through and I already decided. I just wanted to know if there was anything I can do."

"And what has been your decision?" All five heads turned towards him and he put on a brave face despite all his worries. Akaashi gave him a reassuring nod.

"I'll do it. I'll take over." He said as sternly as he could.

"And that settles it." Junko said closing his suitcase with a snap. His mother and father barraged him with questions of whether he was fine with it he waved them off and said, "I'm fine with it."

Maids suddenly arrived with plates of cupcakes, cheesecakes, parfaits, soufflés and more. Cups of tea were distributed to them all.

Bokuto took a plate with cheesecake and poked at it, lazily squishing the cream cheese under his fork. He turned to look at Akaashi who sipped his tea quietly, staring at his fork intensely.

"So, Bokuto," The king said as he downed a glass of water, "You're an earl from now on. You're supposed to be my second in command but I think it'd be better if Keiji were the one you'd work closely with since he'll be the king in the very near future."

Bokuto nodded and Akaashi spoke up, "So what do you want me to do dad?"

"You should go with him to their headquarters, Keij." Kiyoko said smiling at her son, "That way, you can tell him what to do which I'm pretty sure you're more than capable of doing and you can train with him physically if you want. And you can report to your father everything that happens."

Akaashi fiddled with his fork and said, "Alright."

The king suddenly sat up, "Why don't you go now? It's already past 2pm and we still have a plane to catch since we're headed to Karasuno today. Bokuto can head over to his new home and tour the headquarters."

The words 'new home' didn't sit well with Bokuto when he was finally seated inside the car with Akaashi after he bid goodbye to his parents who looked like they were about to burst in tears. He managed to convince them that he'd be fine.

People say home is where the heart is and Bokuto knew that if he were to move to a new house, he'd have a hard time calling it home since he'd called the small apartment with the four other idiots 'home' for years.

 _Everything's gonna change from now on_ , he thought.

He turned to look at Akaashi who was staring at the window with a frown and at Junko in the front seat talking in the phone.

"Are you sure about this?" Akaashi asked all of the sudden, scanning Bokuto's face intently, "You seem unnerved."

"I'm sure. It's just that I feel like I can't do it." Bokuto placed his head on his hands, "I'm not cut out for this."

Akaashi rubbed his back awkwardly as Bokuto turned to look at him, "You can do it."

They rode for almost half an hour until they reached a huge blocky house that looked pretty modernized, like his adoptive parent's house but much bigger with glass walls and grey, black and white paint. Bokuto could spot a pool from the top floor.

The house had large grounds and there were high concrete walls around it. The gate was automatic with a handprint scanner which Junko stuck out his hand for.

Bokuto could spot several surveillance cameras as they passed the driveway stopping in front of the house.

"Welcome home, Koutarou." Junko said as they stepped out with Bokuto who gawked at the house that was supposedly his.

"So, this is-?" He asked turning to Kuroo's dad

He nodded, "Yours. I'll show you all your assets later. For now, I'll show you the headquarters."

Bokuto gave him a questioning look, "Headquarters?"

"You'll find out later." He said and went inside, having the door opened by a maid in uniform. The maid greeted Bokuto with a warm, "Welcome home, sir."

Akaashi trailed behind them with an indifferent look on his face. Bokuto gawked at almost everything, letting out several holy shits in his wake.

The place was so awesome it had leather couches, a huge plasma tv and several thresholds he knew lead to new rooms. There was a spiral staircase and an indoor balcony to go with it.

"Are you sure these are all mine?" Bokuto asked as he twisted his head back and forth and bouncing on the balls of his feet. Akaash sighed, "Bokuto please calm down."

They reached an elevator and went inside. There were four numbered floors and a couple basements ones. Bokuto wondered why the place had a couple underground levels and he found out when Junko pressed the one labeled UG 2.

The descent was relatively fast and when they stepped out everything looked like an advanced military facility.

It looked like something out of Avengers or some shit minus the floaty blue holograms replaced by computers and screens. It kind of looked like some sort of shopping mall with all the glass walls and doors.

They went down the hallway and Bokuto was greeted by several people dressed in what he assumed were their inside gear that consisted of black cargo pants and black shirts with 'Fukurodani' printed in white blocky letters on the back and wearing combat boots.

The place was so intense with all the research facility design, the glass walls etc. As they walked silently, Bokuto saw several people in training rooms and some in what Bokuto assumed were libraries carrying documents and other papers.

Bokuto yet again gawked and started to wander down different hallways and rooms making Akaashi result to steering him to stop him from straying.

They climbed steel stairs in the far end of the place to a room that looked pretty big and had a balcony, he found out that the glass was one-way meaning he could see outside without being seen.

They walked inside and saw that it was an office with a mini kitchen and a small living space.

"So all these--the headquarters?" Bokuto asked plopping down on the sofa.

Junko nodded, "Yes, but don't worry. Even though it's directly under your house it's relatively detached with soundproof walls and a single level separating them. The exits and entrances are also different so that people would stop wandering into your home."

Bokuto nodded at the convenience but Akaashi spoke up from where he stood, leaning on a marble countertop, "But I think that'd be pointless. Since you'll probably be spending all your time in this place." He looked at Bokuto before glancing towards Junko, "Am I right?"

"Indeed." Junko nodded and sat in front of the desk. He gestured for Bokuto to take a seat on the chair behind the desk. It felt really weird sitting on the chair that overlooked everything. Akaashi walked closer and stood beside him as Junko handed him a huge stack of bondpapers before walking out to answer a call.

"What are these?" Bokuto asked as he took them in his hands. Akaashi leaned over him to look at them and nodded, "All your assets, I suppose."

Bokuto frowned and skimmed through the papers. It showed several properties, mostly bank accounts and many more. Bokuto almost felt his head throb as he stared at all the riches, "What in the world-"

Akaashi walked to sit on the chair Junko sat on earlier. "So, where do you want to start?"

"I don't know. What am I supposed to do?" Bokuto rubbed his forehead and stared at Junko who stood on the balcony, "I think my excessive cha-ching are the least of my problems."

"It absolutely is not." Akaashi agreed. After several minutes of silence as Bokuto rifled through the papers, Junko came back and walked directly to a drawer on the other side of the room. He brought out a couple of folders and placed them in front of Bokuto before explaining,

"Here are some of the cases that need to be tended. As you know, it's our job to control the Fukurodani underworld and you know what comes with the underworld right?"

Bokuto nodded and enumerated, "Drugs, mafias, criminals, prostitution and the like?"

"And then some." Akaashi mumbled as he picked one of the folders and scanned the content. "Hey, this is the latest one, right?"

Junko peered at the folder and nodded, "Yes"

Bokuto was handed the folder and he scanned the contents. It was a report on how there was an ongoing opium den in the city and there were several cases of customers suffocating and then dying after smoking what they called their bestseller.

"So, what do I do about this?" Bokuto asked Junko. Junko replied, "It's your job to control how the men will be sent out and how they're to deal with this. But mind you, this is probably the less pressing kind of case out of all these"

Bokuto nodded and continued to scan the report. He'd learned a couple of things about report formalities in college from his business degree and he was pretty sure he got what this was about.

"That's not all." Junko said, "You are also needed to be hands on with some of the cases since you're expected to be there when there are tight situations. What I'm trying to say is that you need to be trained physically and mentally before you actually take over. I will handle the cases for now or until you are sufficiently trained since I was the earl's second in command and since most of these cases are low-level and are not really that ominous."

Bokuto almost sighed in relief. He knew he needed to train and learn everything about this.

"So when does he start?" Akaashi asked lightly

Junko frowned, "He needs to be toured around the facility. Unfortunately I can't do it myself, I have to meet with the head of security."

"So who'll do it?" Bokuto's question was answered when he saw Kuroo climbing up the stairs wearing the all-black gear and an unreadable expression on his face. Bokuto drew a sharp breath and standing up suddenly making Akaashi look at him questioningly.

"Tetsurou." Junko turned to his son and clapped him on the shoulder, "Take them around the facility."

Kuroo merely nodded. He acknowledged Akaashi with an offer of his hand, "Prince Keiji. Kuroo Tetsurou." Akaashi accepted his hand and said, "Pleased to meet you." Kuroo gave him a curt nod

Kuroo turned to look at Bokuto, "Sir Koutarou, if you'd two please follow me."

What the fuck.

Bokuto almost seethed with anger when he heard the, 'sir'. Kuroo's plain expression pissed him off.

They walked with Kuroo in front of them as Akaashi fell to step beside him, "You know him?"

"I used to know him." He said loudly and saw Kuroo visibly stiffen. Bokuto really wanted to talk to him. Akaashi seemed to sense this and turned to him to whisper, "Bokuto, you two can go along. I'll check the library and maybe I'll look for someone else to show me around."

Bokuto stopped and stared at him incredulously, "What? No you shouldn't. You should stay with me."

Akaashi shook his head and turned to look at Kuroo who stopped walking but had his head turned away, "I don't know what's wrong between the two of you but I feel like you two need to talk. I'll be fine by myself."

The older man sighed and stared at him seriously, "Alright, alright. Thank you. Just, I don't know-stay close or something?"

Akaashi nodded, "Alright. I'll see you around." He walked inside one of the rooms that had books and started to scan the shelves. Bokuto sighed and turned back to walk. Kuroo did so too.

"So that's the library." Kuroo pointed animatedly to where Akaashi went inside.

They walked and Kuroo kept pointing at rooms, "That's the computer lab where we get reports and print them out to forward to you. That's the training room where we practice physically but it isn't that important because we usually use guns and try to avoid fist fights. That's the-"

Bokuto had had enough, his ears rang violently as he grasped Kuroo's shirt from behind him and slammed him into the wall of a secluded hallway, "What the fuck, bro!"

Kuroo stared at him expressionlessly pissing Bokuto off more, "What the fuck?! What are you trying to do?!"

"I'm showing you around-"

"I'm not talking about that you idiot!" Bokuto screamed, "Why are you calling me 'sir' and acting like I'm not your friend."

Kuroo sighed and tore Bokuto's hand from his shirt, "You're my boss, okay? And I know you're pissed at me right now because I didn't tell you-"

"You're right, I'm pissed." Bokuto countered

"Oh for the love of-" Kuroo breathed in a deep breath and stared at Bokuto before raising his voice, "Bro! Are you seriously pissed about that? I didn't tell you because I knew it was for the best. Bro, you're like a brother to me and I'd move heaven and hell for you, I'd do anything for you but I knew that telling you would risk your life!" His shoulders shook in outrage.

Bokuto reeled back and stared at the floor. He'd screwed up big time. He was being selfish and he didn't realize how Kuroo felt about everything.

"Bro, I'm sorry for all the things I've said." 

Kuroo sighed, "I'm sorry too bro. I just didn't want you to get hurt before.".

Kuroo opened his arms and Bokuto tackled him in a brohug. "Brooo~" Their unmanly wails traveled down the hallways making people wonder whether their headquarters were haunted.

\-------------------------------------

Akaashi wandered down the halls of the facility looking at the different rooms. He didn't think he'd need a tour guide given that the rooms were labeled and you could pretty much tell what they were for. As he wandered, people kept bowing to him which he automatically waved off.

He heard footsteps behind him as he peered at the computer laboratory.

"Akaashi!" He heard his name being called and he turned to look at Bokuto and Kuroo walking towards him. They seemed to look more comfortable with each other and Kuroo didn't look as stiff as he was earlier.

Kuroo looked like an intimidating person with the hair and the long limbs and that look in his eyes like he knew all of your darkest secrets.

"Hey" Akaashi said as he walked to meet them. He gave Bokuto a questioning look which he answered with, "Nah, we're good."

Kuroo rubbed the back of his head and said to him, "Er, I'm sorry for the bother Prince-"

Akaashi dismissed it with a wave of his hand, "Just call me Akaashi and don't be so formal around me we're all royals here. And it's fine."

"Alright...Akaashi." Kuroo frowned as he said the words.

"Bro, you didn't tell me you were also a royal!" Bokuto slapped Kuroo's back playfully. Kuroo shrugged and said, "Well duh. I'll be your right hand man when I take over for my dad."

Bokuto almost laughed at that. The three of them were kind of in the same boat. They were all sons of royalties and were expected to carry on for them.

Kuroo snapped his finger as if he just realized something and turned to Bokuto saying, "Bro, you didn't tell me the beautiful guy you talked about was the prince."

Bokuto blushed deeply and so did Akaashi. "I didn't know he was the prince okay?"

"Well isn't that a beautiful coincidence." Kuroo winked at Bokuto which he replied to with a punch. "Anyways, I showed you all places except for the shooting range and weapons room that's another level below. I'm pretty sure Akaashi found out everything by himself, am I right?"

Akaashi nodded. And Bokuto piped up, "Are you trying to imply something Kuroo."

Kuroo held up a hand, "Nope, not at all. Which reminds me, there's one last place I'd like to show you. It's probably the most important."

The followed Kuroo down the hall until they reached a huge steel double door tucked on the left side of the wall. They walked there and Kuroo typed in a code after telling them to memorize what he just typed in.

The doors opened like an elevator and they stepped inside what Akaashi assumed to be the control room. Several screens were put up on the walls and had like a thousand different places being watched. There were also computers on both sides with people typing into them loudly.

Kuroo gestured at everything with his hand, "This is our control room. Here we have people minding the surveillance cameras that have been put around the city. They also communicate with our people in the field. They also handle all the techno works for the security of the headquarters and your house." He said pointing at Bokuto.

They walked to a special cubicle with three computer screens on the wall and three more on the tables.

Sitting there, facing the computers and playing a handheld game was a blond boy with terrible roots that oddly seemed to fit him. He had his feet up on the swivel chair and his knees to his chest. He seemed very engrossed with his game.

"And here is the brain of the control room." Kuroo gestured to the small man on the chair.

"What do you want, Kuro" The boy said in an annoyed tone without looking up from his game.

Kuroo sighed and ran a hand through his hair, "Our new boss and the prince are here you dummy" With that, he looked up at Bokuto and then at Akaashi with big, calculating gold eyes and said, "Sup. I'm Kozume Kenma. Call me Kenma"

Bokuto narrowed his eyes, "Eh?! Isn't this the cute blonde from the library, Kuroo?"

Kuroo blushed when Kenma turned to him with a bored look, "Seriously?"

"Come on, Kenma. I needed an alibi when I kept meeting you for the reports." Kuroo whined and leaned on a table. Kenma scoffed, "Whatever."

Kuroo flicked Kenma's nose affectionately and the boy scrunched up said nose in annoyance as he slapped Kuroo's hand away making Akaashi and Bokuto exchange questioning looks.

Kuroo turned to them, "Anyways, this guy is the brain of controls. He's also a hacker that goes through different deep websites for information on cases. He can also find any person in the world with a single computer."

Kenma stared at Kuroo with an exasperated look, "Don't patronize me, Kuro." He turned back to his game as Kuroo snorted and turned back to the two of them, "And that's all I've got to show you." He gave Bokuto a smug look, "All we have left is to train you and then you're probably good to go."

"Probably?!"


	7. In which Bokuto works from home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rushed training and cliché events sigh

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Forgive me for the sucky pace of this fic, I needed it to be a slow one to fulfill my constant state of procrastination

Chapter 7

In the week after that, Bokuto and Kuroo moved into the house and headquarters respectively after some dramatic goodbyes with Oikawa, Daichi and Ushijima.

"Why are you moving, Bokuto?" Daichi asked, standing by the door of his room with his arms crossed over his chest.

Bokuto frowned as he stuffed his clothes into his gym bag, "I can't tell you."

Oikawa pouted before plopping onto his bed, "But why~ do you hate us now?"

Bokuto sighed before turning to Daichi, then to Oikawa and lastly to Ushijima who sat on the windowsill, "You know I could never hate you guys. It's just, something's up and I can't tell you."

Ushijima tapped his chin before saying, "Well, it's your choice and we are still going to be friends after this. Am I right?"

Bokuto actually laughed at that, "Just because I'm moving doesn't mean I'll cut my ties with you lot." Deep inside though, Bokuto pondered that maybe he did need to cut off his ties with his friends if it meant keeping them safe.

Daichi nodded, "Well, it will probably be a lot silent here. Does Kuroo know?" Bokuto frowned at that. They still didn't know about Kuroo moving too?

"Kuroo's moved too." Ushijima stated.

Daichi and Oikawa turning to him with big eyes, "He told me the other day when I found him packing his clothes."

"And you didn't tell us?" Daichi said lowly.

Ushijima shrugged, "I thought you'd find out for yourself since his room is mostly empty."

Oikawa whined, sitting up and running a hand through his hair, "Now you're both leaving. Who's gonna stay with me now?"

Bokuto remembered their graduation dinner when Oikawa mentioned it being just the three of them: him, Kuroo and Bokuto. And now they're both moving which leaves Oikawa alone once Ushijima and Daichi decide for their lives.

"What are you talking about, Oikawa?" Ushijima asked, "What about Daichi and me?"

"Well, you're probably gonna go somewhere else and play professional volleyball and Daichi's still gonna go to Karasuno despite everything." He looked at Daichi who frowned, "I know Sugawara's already told you to choose the most beneficial option for you and your future."

Daichi nodded to Oikawa's suspicions and Ushijima only frowned. Bokuto didn't want to do this but he needed to. Sure, he can just stay in the apartment and take daily trips and get home really late but it would probably endanger his friends' lives given the work he had. At least, that's what Kuroo and Junko said, Akaashi too.

Bokuto laughed and said, "Cheer up you guys! It's not like we're dying."

"Although it feels like it." Oikawa said silently and standing up.

Bokuto looked at him and so did the other two, Bokuto really hated it when Oikawa's flair for dramatics comes out of the blue because it was really effective. He started whimpering and went over to Oikawa wrapping him in a bear hug, "'Kawa, why did you say that?"

Oikawa only shook his head before turning to Daichi and Ushijima, "Well, come on! Group hug before he goes!"

They all went over and agreed to Oikawa's antics. A voice came from the hallway, "Bokuto, you done?"

Kuroo stepped into Bokuto's room and found the four of them in a group hug. He exclaimed dramatically, "I feel so left out!"

The four of them looked up, breaking apart slightly

"Bro! Come here!" Bokuto said beckoning for him to join.

"Kuroo, why didn't you tell them?" Ushijima

"Tetsu-! Impeccable timing! Come on!" Oikawa

"No. You're all traitors- all of you~ group hugging without me." Kuroo pointed at them with a joking glare

Bokuto snorted before holding an arm out, "Bro, stop being so dramatic!"

Kuroo wrapped his arms around himself, "No, I'll just hug myself since you've chosen to leave me out of this."

"Jeez Kuroo, you're not Justin Bieber!" Oikawa whined, they were still waiting for him to join in.

Daichi snorted, "Come on, you lanky geezer!"

Kuroo laughed and held out his arms before barreling towards them.

"Tetsu, you smell like sweat. Did you just get home from the gym?!" Oikawa complained.

Kuroo laughed and hugged them tighter, "Maybe I did, maybe I didn't."

"Koutarou, get your muscles out of my face!"

"Oops. Not sorry."

"Ushiwaka, you're squeezing the life out of me!" Oikawa whimpered.

Ushijima snorted and hugged them all tighter, "Don't be such a diva, Oikawa."

"Holy shit."

"Did he just say diva?"

"I think he just did."

"Why can't you morons just hug in peace?"

"What did you just call me, Ushiwaka-chan?!"

After all that, Bokuto managed to pack some of his clothes and shoes while the other four bantered in his room.

Kuroo kept poking Oikawa's side and kept teasing him, "Why don't you ask Iwaizumi to move in with you, eh? I bet you'd like that."

Suffice to say, Oikawa looked like a tomato after all that. Kuroo also received reprimanding words from Daichi, telling him he was an idiot for not telling them that he'd already moved.

After a minute or so, Oikawa gasped, "Are you guys eloping or something?!"

Kuroo fake gagged and Bokuto laughed out loud. It would probably make sense if Oikawa thought of that given that they were both moving without clear reasons, "You know I love Kuroo but he's not my type. Not- that you're not hot bro." He said to Kuroo.

Kuroo snorted, "I know bro. I don't like Bokuto like that, jeez. Like he said before, he's like my brother."

"Yeah and he prefers the cute, lethargic type with dyed blonde hair and gold eyes." Kenma. Kenma. Kenma.

"You're one to talk! Lethargic brunette with green brooding eyes and hot ass." Woah woah back the fuck up

"Bro, did you actually check out his ass?! I cannot accept this betrayal!" Bokuto shrieked dramatically, dropping his bag that he'd already slung over his shoulder emotionally

"Nope bro, chill. I've got my sights on one ass and one alone."

"Alright then."

"For fuck's sake, shut up both of you! We don't understand what you're saying!" Daichi boomed

Ushijima turned away, "What's new?"

Bokuto and Kuroo finally said their goodbyes to the three of them as they rode back to the headquarters in Kuroo's car. He'd miss those guys, he was sure of that because well, he'd spent almost all the important and special parts of his life with them.

But he knew that thinking too much about it would only be fruitless because there was nothing he could do. At least he still had Kuroo and now had Akaashi, and even Kenma.

Bokuto silently wondered whether he'd brought enough of his clothes since he'd left a significantly large amount in the apartment thinking that he'd have to go and being some more if needed.

He quickly found out that he did not, in fact, need to bring more clothes because as he hauled his luggage into the master bedroom with the huge king-sized bed, he saw that the walk-in closet consisted of clothes and shoes that were all surprisingly his size.

He took his sweet time rummaging through the racks of dark colored clothes and he had to shut his eyes when he looked at their design tags. Jesus, even a single jacket could have paid for an entire college course.

He wondered how in the world all these things got there and Junko told him his parents may or may not have prepared for the day he'd come back. Well, Bokuto couldn't complain because it was awesome.

The day after that, Bokuto roamed the headquarters and found out that Kuroo slept in one of the rooms there with a simple cot because he didn't want to go home every day.

Bokuto persuaded said man to be his housemate in the new house since it had almost 10 unoccupied rooms and he felt lonely.

Kuroo finally gave in after another hour and somehow he also managed to drag Kenma who in Kuroo's words, mostly lived in a place void of warm human emotions, with him and the two lived with Bokuto in rooms just down the hall.

Kuroo and Bokuto managed to persuade Akaashi and Kenma to come with the, one day when they toured the whole house, who constantly scolded them for their shit.

They sort of broke the tv in Kuroo's room when Bokuto latched onto it trying to find the aux cord.

"Bro, I can't find a doc! There are so many outlets on this tv." Bokuto whined as he looked at the back.

Kuroo waved a hand absentmindedly as he munched on his fifth slice of homemade pizza while scrolling through his laptop, "Maybe there's an aux cord or something."

"Be careful, Bokuto" Akaashi chided as he and Kenma sat on the couch chatting idly about video games because despite his mature persona, Akaashi had a thing for video games.

Kuroo actually told him he was jealous that Akaashi managed to make Kenma speak so much.

Speaking of Kenma, they'd just found out that he was a childhood friend of Kuroo.

They went to different schools which explained why Bokuto didn't see said person before but Kuroo and Kenma spent time at home and during summer which reminded Bokuto that he never really hung out with Kuroo during that season.

Bokuto continued looking for the aux cord when he accidentally rested his weight on the tv which was hung on the wall. Bokuto went down with the tv and he groaned.

Kuroo burst out laughing clutching his sides as Kenma smacked him on the head.

Akaashi ran to him, hovering over his face and lending him a hand, "Bokuto? Are you alright?"

Bokuto groaned as he took Akaashi's hand and sat up, "Yep, I'm fine." Bokuto looked at the tv that had a huge crack and lifted a wire, "Well, at least I found the aux cord"

Akaashi placed a hand on his forehead and muttered, "Damn this guy's an idiot"

Bokuto pouted, feeling a tad bit dejected, "Am not"

They spent the entire day messing around the house. Akaashi ran around trying to control the two idiots while Kenma followed silently, carrying his PSP.

At the end of the day, they broke a single tv, trashed Bokuto's closet and spilled several cans of beer into the pool. They probably gave the maids headaches after that.

Needless to say, that was probably the calm before the storm because the next day Bokuto started his training. He worked his ass off in the headquarters. He was given a schedule which mostly consisted of sparring (even though Kuroo stated it was almost useless, Junko insisted that it was 'imperative' for someone to be prepared for any situation) and shooting practices.

He felt like he was in some sort of boot camp.

Akaashi and Junko stuck with him during those educating procedures, informing him of everything that had to do with the rules of the city and the underworld.

\-----------------------------

The first two days, Akaashi kept going home until Bokuto finally offered him to stay in the spacious house.

"Hey, 'Kaashi?" Bokuto asked as Akaashi went over the guns that were hanging on the wall. They were on the 3rd underground level of the headquarters which contained the shooting range. That was the first time Kuroo showed them the place.

Akaashi dropped the revolver and turned to him, "Yes?"

Bokuto gave him a sheepish smile, "Uhm, since you've been going home all the time and I know that's pretty tiring, why don't you just stay with us? If that doesn't disrupt your prince duties or something"

He heard Kuroo say something from the other side of the room which sounded like, "Oooh~, eloping already~?" Bokuto flipped him the bird.

Akaashi loaded a pistol with a single magazine and turned to him, "Prince duties, huh? I don't have any more duties other than working with you."

Bokuto nodded and kept quiet, his eyes glazing hopefully while bouncing on his feet, still waiting for Akaashi's response to his offer. Akaashi sighed, "Alright, if you insist."

Bokuto pumped his fists in triumph, "Hey, hey! I sure as hell insist!"

And with that, Akaashi moved into the room beside Bokuto's and then they spent the entire month training.

Mostly Bokuto trained but Akaashi joined him on several occasions especially during sparring and studying.

\--------------------

"Don't drop your elbows, bro. Keep your hands up and don't give the opponent any opening !" Kuroo shouted orders at him as he and Akaashi stood on the mat.

Kuroo and Kenma were with them in the training room since there were no recent cases and Kuroo insisted that Kenma should come out of his chicken coop.

Both Bokuto and Akaashi were thankful for Kuroo's help because they found out their strengths and weaknesses in fighting.

Akaashi was fast making it easy for him to dodge attacks but he lacked force. Bokuto was a tad slower but his huge body provided him more strength and power in tackling and punching.

They were darting around each other with Bokuto doing all the advances while Akaashi pranced around him and dodged his attacks.

"Hey, hey, Akaashi! You're softening up aren't you? You're not advancing at all!" Bokuto taunted as he stepped forward feeling careless and dropping his stance a little.

Akaashi sneered at him, "I don't think so." Akaashi bolted forward, sliding his legs over Bokuto's feet making him drop to the mat on his back.

Akaashi slung his legs over Bokuto's torso and straddling his stomach while keeping a firm grip on his collar and a fist raised over his face. Bokuto swallowed and looked up at him with wide eyes.

"Holy shit." Bokuto raised his hands in surrender, "I give up. Pls don't kill me."

Akaashi just glowered down at him, "Just because I'm not attacking doesn't mean I won't."

They stared at each other for quite a long time before a voice wailed from behind them, "Ah, young love~" It was Kuroo, dramatically placing his hands over his chest while Kenma kicked him in the shin making him yelp, "Babe!" He received another kick for that.

Akaashi seeming to realize the intimacy of the position blushed and stood up quickly, stumbling on his feet.

Bokuto cleared his throat so violently, he might have coughed up his tonsils. Akaashi extended a hand for Bokuto and hauled him up.

Kuroo whistled behind them as he stepped forward, "Yo, Akaashi! You've beaten the shit out of Bokuto for these past few days. How'd you do that?"

Akaashi lifted his water bottle to his lips before answering, "I trained with my dad for a while. Maybe about a month before he got busier and we stopped."

Bokuto's jaw slackened, "That's so unfair! No wonder he's been pinning my ass on the ground all this time!" Bokuto stuck a tongue at Akaashi who rolled his eyes and karate chopped his neck making him sputter, "Rude!"

"Alright my wayward children!" Kuroo clapped his hands like a father, "Let's all head back, it's getting late."

Bokuto snorted, "Bro, you're starting to sound like Daichi.". Both Kenma and Akaashi gave audible snorts.

The two shared a lot about their friends to them. And to quote their words, "The trash king Oikawa Tooru, the boulder Ushijima Wakatoshi and Dadchi."

Kuroo's widened as he gasped dramatically and fell to his knees, holding his head in his hands, "Noooo~" He wailed.

Bokuto shook his head slowly and patted Kuroo's shoulder, "Oh how the mighty fall"

\----------------------------------

The day after that, Bokuto trained in the shooting range. He was getting pretty good at it. He could nail moving targets with any kind of gun. He also grew pretty fond of snipes as he could spot real well and is pretty good at calculating air speed and distance. That discovery surprised him to an extent.

Junko commented that he got the skill from his father, the earl who was quite an excellent sniper and his wife who slept with guns under her pillows.

In that particular day though, Akaashi joined him which was unusual because Akaashi usually came with only when he sparred or studied.

Bokuto whistled as he lowered his pistol, taking off his safety headphones and glasses. "Hey, hey, hey! Akaashi! Whatcha doing here?"

Akaashi winced at the volume of Bokuto's voice, "I'm here to practice with you. My dad has this meeting with Johzenji today and I needed an excuse." Akaashi frowned as if he was remembering something unpleasant.

Bokuto smiled and ran a hand through his hair before walking towards him, placing an arm over Akaashi's shoulders, "Well you came to the right place. I can be your savior." He winked. Bokuto internally screamed at himself, _what the fuck are you doing bro_

Akaashi blushed deeply before ducking out of Bokuto's reach, "I prefer to call you an excuse."

Bokuto pouted and placed a hand over his heart, "You wound me"

Akaashi scoffed despite his blushes and said, "Good" and walked past Bokuto who whimpered and towards the wall that contained guns. He picked a handgun and went over to a cubicle with a clean target.

Bokuto went over to a cabinet that contained safety gear and he handed them to Akaashi saying, "Here. Wouldn't want you going deaf on me.". Akaashi frowned mildly before taking said objects and a mumbled a, "thank you"

Bokuto smiled and slapped his shoulder earning him a glare and went inside his own cubicle with the moving targets, lifting the abandoned pistol and shooting them one by one after he placed on his safety gear .

He noticed Akaashi shooting beside him with a fiberglass window between them, but Bokuto saw that he kept muttering curses making him tilt his head to look at his target.

The target was clean with no holes whatsoever. Bokuto stopped his own shooting to remove his safety gear and studied Akaashi who looked pretty serious.

"Fuck" He heard the younger man mutter when he finished all his cartridges without hitting the target even once.

Bokuto frowned and stepped out of his cubicle stepped into Akaashi's cubicle making said man turn to him with a questioning look. Bokuto smiled at him, "You're doing it wrong".

Bokuto had enough practice to know the proper stance and technique of range shooting. Bokuto walked forward and took the gun from Akaashi and loaded it with a new magazine.

Akaashi stepped aside but Bokuto shook his head and held the man in place. He placed the gun in Akaashi's hand.

He moved one side of his headphone away just enough for him to hear and did the same for Akaashi.

"Alright, do your usual position." Bokuto said as he stood behind Akaashi. Akaashi did as told and Bokuto immediately noticed the errors here and there.

He extended his arm and positioned Akaashi properly. Akaashi blushed furiously when he felt his back hit Bokuto's chest.

"Widen your stance." Bokuto said as he stepped aside and Akaashi followed reluctantly as he widened the gap of his feet. "What's your dominant arm?" The older man asked.

"Left" Akaashi whispered. He felt Bokuto nod beside him, "Alright. Place your right foot a bit forward and bend your knees. Good. Tighten your left hand on the grip and support it with the right one. Yes." Akaashi followed everything Bokuto said.

He turned to Bokuto who nodded, "Try it." Akaashi shot a couple of rounds but only a single one managed to hit the target on the corner. He turned yet again to Bokuto who frowned at the target. "Something's wrong. Try again." Bokuto studied his form and finally saw what was wrong.

He went behind him and extended his arm to wrap his hands around Akaashi's that held the gun. Akaashi felt his face heat up along with the rest of his body. He could feel Bokuto's toned chest pressed to his back and the shift of the muscles of his arms.

Bokuto blushed hella hard and tried to control his own embarrassment as he tried his best to right Akaashi's form without seeming too touchy.

He breathed in sharply and said, "You need to bend your elbows and make sure your sight is properly leveled." Akaashi tried his best to follow and he shot a single round and it hit the target's outside circle.

He still seemed unimpressed and he tried to look at Bokuto pleadingly. Bokuto understood and drew his face closer to Akaashi's ear and whispered, "You're too stiff. Breathe, Akaashi." That was easier said than done, since he was hyperaware of Bokuto's presence behind him.

Akaashi closed his eyes and took a deep breath before letting it all out and opening his eyes. He tried shooting a cartridge and then another and then the next one.

Bokuto slowly loosened his grip on Akaashi's hand and dropped his own arms to let him get used to gripping it himself. Akaashi shot more cartridges and they all hit the bullseye.

When he finished the magazine he turned to Bokuto with an excited look which made Bokuto's chest fill with pride.

"There you go!" Bokuto exclaimed and wrapped his arm around Akaashi's shoulder, "I'm proud of you!"

Akaashi grinned up at him, "Thank you. You're a pretty awesome teacher."

Bokuto puffed his chest up proudly, "What can I say? I'm pretty awesome in general.".

Akaashi pushed him off playfully and said, "Don't get used to it. You're still an idiot."

"I'm your idiot." Bokuto winked. He cursed himself. _Why the hell are you such a pervert bro_

Akaashi blushed and turned away to look at the target, "Yeah."

Bokuto's eyes widened comically at that but he didn't speak up. Awkward silence followed. Bokuto stared at his shoes until he couldn't take the silence so he cleared his throat, "Uhm, yeah."

"Yep" Akaashi mumbled

Bokuto looked at the target and tried to sound normal, "Well, do you wanna take the target? We can frame it up!"

Akaashi rolled his eyes, "That sounds ridiculous. It's not that important."

Bokuto pouted childishly, "So you don't want to bring it back? Well, okay-"

"I do" Akaashi mumbled. Bokuto snorted loudly, "Pffft Akaashi. You could have just said so."

Akaashi punched his arm, "Idiot."

\-------------------------------------

A couple of days after that and a month down, Bokuto pushed himself to the limit with his training because he needed to get better. He needed to get better as soon as possible.

Akaashi kept reminding him to stop tiring himself so much because there were several times when he'd wake up in the middle of the night and pass Bokuto's room only to see that the door was wide open.

He figured he was down in the headquarters working his ass off.

Akaashi constantly wondered what his relationship with Bokuto was. Sure, they were partners when it came to taking care of the country and all the bazoobs but other than that, he didn't know.

They spent almost everyday together and they grew a bond wherein Bokuto depended on Akaashi and so did he.

They shared jokes, laughed together and made fun of each other. He constantly scolded Bokuto for his crazy ideas and it took every ounce of his self-control not to walk out on him every time both him and Kuroo prank called royals from the list by their telephone during their free times.

They were closer now and he can very well say that they were friends. And now that they were friends, he seemed to be more aware of Bokuto especially now that he was being reckless with his health.

This particular night though, Akaashi woke up at 3am to his screaming bladder and saw that Bokuto's room was still empty as he passed by to get a glass of water.

He frowned because that was the fourth night in a row and he knew how much Bokuto trained during the day.

He went back to his room and put on a loose sweatshirt. He decided that his drawstring sweatpants were fine and he already wore thermal socks so he didn't bother with slippers.

He went to the elevator and pressed the special button that lead to Bokuto's office directly because he figure he'd be there.

As the elevator opened silently he saw Bokuto from across the dimly lit room with only the table lamp from his table. He was hunched over several papers seemingly not noticing Akaashi.

Akaashi walked closer and whispered, "Hey."

Bokuto jumped at the sound of his voice and lifted his head. He was still wearing the Fukurodani training gear and looked really tired with bags under his eyes, his hair down from it's usual spikes which surprised Akaashi because that was probably the first time he saw him like that.

He looked younger and more innocent.

"Akaashi, why are you still awake?" Bokuto asked, his voice thick with exhaustion.

Akaashi frowned, "I could say the same for you. Why are you still here?"

Bokuto sighed and massaged his temples, "I'm reading over some previous reports trying to figure out how my father dealt with cases. I want to be able to understand the way he worked." He explained, hunching over a huge stack of papers.

"But it's late. It's 3am." Akaashi said pointing at the clock on the table. Bokuto looked up and frowned, "Last time I checked it was 10pm."

Akaashi sighed and walked around the table. Bokuto turned his chair to face him.

"Bokuto, you don't have to do all this. You're tiring yourself and at this rate, you're gonna get sick" Akaashi reasoned out as he placed a hand on Bokuto's shoulder

Bokuto nodded but sighed and stared at the ground "I know. It's just that I want to do my best and try to be like my father. I want to be able to follow his ways. I don't want to disappoint your mom and dad. Also, Junko and Kuroo and my mom and dad and...you."

"Hey," Akaashi placed a hand on Bokuto's cheek urging him to lift his head. His golden eyes shined in the light of the lamp, "You don't have to try and be like him. You're Bokuto Koutarou and you'll find your own way. You're you and you won't be disappointing anyone. You're my idiot after all."

Akaashi blushed at his own words and so did Bokuto. Bokuto lifted a hand to his own cheek where Akaashi's hand rested and smiled up at him tiredly, "You think I can do it?"

Akaash nodded, "I know you can do it. Besides, I'll be here for you."

Bokuto smiled at him, "Alright."

"Well then," Akaashi turned to look at the clock, "It's pretty late. Let's go back up and you can go to sleep." He said as he turned on his heel and started walking towards the elevator when he felt Bokuto's hand take hold of his wrist.

"Wait, Akaashi-" Bokuto whispered from behind him. Akaashi turned around, "Wha-" He couldn't continue what he said because he felt a strong pair of arms wrap around his chest and a face pressing onto his neck. He got wrapped in Bokuto's embrace making him gasp in surprise.

"Thank you, for everything." Bokuto whispered to his neck. 

If the circumstances were different, Akaashi would have flinched away at the sudden immense contact but he knew how much of a touchy-feely person Bokuto was and it was quite endearing.

And as a plus, Bokuto needed the comfort because if it were Akaashi in his situation, he wouldn't know what to do and he'd probably be lost.

The fact that he knew all his life about his future responsibilities and was trained almost everyday for it was an advantage he had and Bokuto did not.

He wondered what if felt like, waking up one day and being told that you were supposed to run an entire rank as a royal and not just any royal, the king's second in command. And not to mention, this rank bore so much responsibilities and so much pressure that a normal and ordinary person could not deal with and probably give up in a day or two.

But Bokuto was not just any person. He was someone different and in a good way. He was special.

Akashi sighed and went to his tippy toes, wrapping his arms around Bokuto's shoulders rubbing the hair on his nape. He pressed his face to the side of Bokuto's head, "It's fine. You can do it. I believe in you."

They stayed like that for a couple more seconds that turned to a full minute until Akaashi tapped Bokuto's arm making the man let go of him with a tired smile. They walked back to the house, walking side by side and hands brushing briefly.

They bid each other a good night and walked to their respective rooms, curling up in their own beds and thinking of what the universe had in store for the two of them.

 


	8. In which Bokuto gets what he deserves

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> unedited *sighs dramatically*

CHAPTER EIGHT

It has been two months since Bokuto started his training and finally, Junko deemed him worthy to take over.

"Koutarou, you've been learning at a really fast pace." Junko said as Bokuto wiped the sweat off his brow just after sparring with Washio. He'd managed to pin the man down in just 30 seconds. Akaashi was really impressed and he discreetly tried to avoid sparring with Bokuto during training out of pure cowardice.

"Yeah, thanks." Bokuto said as Akaashi handed him a bottle of water. They walked together towards the door.

Junko fixed his suit and cleared his throat, "Well then, I think you're ready." Bokuto stopped in his tracks and turned slowly, "What?"

"The day after tomorrow, you're to take over. I will hand all the responsibilities to you and you'll have my son as your second in command." Junko discussed sternly.

"Woah seriously!?" Bokuto gaped. Junko nodded, "You did well." Bokuto bounced on the balls of his feet and whipped his head around to look at Akaashi, "Ya here that, 'Kaashi? I'm awesome in general!"

Akaashi just smiled at him encouragingly. He knew Bokuto'd worked for this and he understood that this was something he's proud of.

"So," Bokuto looked at Junko hopefully, "No more training?". Junko gave a rare chuckle and walked past him after tapping his shoulder, "I don't think so." Bokuto groaned and ran a hand through his face and slumped forward, slouching.

Akaashi stepped behind him and steered him out of the door, "Let's go, you big oaf." Bokuto took heavy steps towards the elevator while whining, "I don't wanna train anymore. I don't see other earls training."

Akaashi scoffed and leaned on the elevator wall, crossing his arms, "Maybe because you haven't seen earls or any other royals for that matter."

"Well, when I think about it-" Bokuto placed a hand on his chin, "But still."

The elevator door opened and Akaashi stepped out then turned his head to look at Bokuto, "Straighten up. My dad's waiting in the living room."

"Eh?!" Bokuto's face twisted in fear as he darted out of the elevator and ran towards the stairs, "Why didn't you tell me. I smell like shit-" Akaashi grabbed the collar of his shirt, successfully choking him.

"No time to change, he's in a hurry." Akaashi chided as he dragged a kicking Bokuto towards the living room to where the king waited.

The king exclaimed when he saw the both of them, "Keiji! Bokuto! It's been a long time."

"Hey, hey, hey! Mr. Akaashi!" Bokuto straightened up after tearing Akaashi's hands off his collar. He offered his fist to the king, asking for a fist bump, which the older man returned reluctantly, not knowing what he was doing.

Akaashi snorted at the casual-almost childish action, "I saw you yesterday, dad."

The king shrugged, "Well, it's the thought that counts. Anywaaay~" He sang and slapped Bokuto's arm, "You're going tomorrow, okay?"

"Tomorrow?" Bokuto tilted his head quizically. The king turned to Akaashi, "You didn't tell him, yet?"

"I didn't get the opportunity." Akaashi deadpanned before turning to Bokuto, "There'll be a ball tomorrow evening. You're supposed to go."

"What?! Why didn't you tell me?"

"I'm pretty sure I heard that line somewhere."

"You're making me repeat it!"

The king placed a hand on their shoulders, "Boys, boys." He looked at Bokuto, "The ball will be attended by several royals from neighboring countries. This will be your first event as an earl. It'd be the perfect time to introduce you to the others and to the public."

"Jeez." Bokuto ran a hand through his hair, "Public, as in-?"

"The people of the country of course. But don't worry, nobody else will know your line of work except for the people who already knew it from your father. It will probably sound like the proclamation of a long lost royal." The king explained

Bokuto nodded but deep inside, he was nervous as hell. He ran scenarios of how everything will end up tomorrow and-

"-alright? Bokuto?" Bokuto snapped back to reality, "Yes. I am!"

The king nodded, "Well, alright. I have to go, it's already midnight. You boys better go to sleep."

The two of them nodded and looked at the king until he disappeared into his car.

Bokuto looked at Akaashi who shrugged. He dumped his beefy arm around Akaashi's shoulders, "I'm gonna need your expertise for tomorrow."

The shorter man snorted as they walked towards the stairs, "You always need my expertise."

"Exactly." Bokuto smiled widely. Akaashi pinched Bokuto's arm as they reached the second floor, making the man yelp, "Akaashi! What was that for?!"

Akaashi glared at him, "Your arm is heavy."

"I can't help but be bara, I guess." Bokuto made a show of flexing his arms that were exposed because of the grey muscle tee he wore. Akaashi hated to admit it but he liked watching the shift of his muscles and the veins popping out of his skin.

He asked Bokuto once when they were training about his fitness as discreetly as possible and the man told him he used to go to play volleyball.

He might have stared too long because Bokuto's eyes flashed with mischief, "Like what you see?"

Akaashi kicked one of his knees that were inconveniently covered by what Bokuto called were kneepads which Kuroo insisted were leggings. Pfft.

"I might like what I see if you take a bath." Akaashi chided, "You smell awful."

The man pouted at him and placed a hand over his heart, "Why must you do this to me?"

"Comes with the job." Akaashi shrugged and went inside his room. Before closing the door, he stuck his head out to look at Bokuto who still held a hand over his heart and pouting "Take a bath. Goodnight."

\----------------------------------

Bokuto woke up to incessant knocking from his door. He groaned rolled to his stomach, "10 more minutes Daichi."

The knocking stopped for a moment, luring Bokuto into a false sense of security and then it came back with a vengeance.

Bokuto bolted upright when he heard Akaashi's voice from the other side, "Bokuto. Wake up."

Bokuto ran and hand through his face and dragged himself to the door. He opened it slowly as he rubbed his eyes, keeping a hand on the jam to keep himself upright, "Akaaashi. Why are you trying to destroy my door?"

Akaashi gave him a deadpan look, "It's 3pm. We're supposed to head over to the mansion at 5."

"Shit." Bokuto cursed and ran a hand through his face.

Akaashi looked at him sourly, "Put some pants on and then head down for breakfast. Lunch. Whatever."

Bokuto nodded vigorously and Akaashi turned away to head downstairs. Bokuto went to his closet and threw on the first pair of sweatpants he saw over his boxers before going to the bathroom and brushing his teeth.

He went downstairs to find Akaashi cooking by the stove. Bokuto walked closer and sat on the counter, "Smells good. Why are you cooking, 'Kaashi? Aren't the maids here?" He said looking around for said maids.

Akaashi turned around with a spatula in hand and pointed it menacingly at Bokuto, "Why? You don't want to taste my cooking?"

Bokuto's eyes popped wide open at how adorable Akaashi looked with his running shorts and loose shirt and that cute grey apron with a cartoon owl. He silently wondered why in the hell a prince like Akaashi knew how to cook.

Bokuto took a glass already placed on the counter and poured himself some water. He drank and cleared his throat before saying, "Nope. I mean no- as in I do want to taste your cooking."

Akaashi glared at Bokuto making him whimper. "Good." Akaashi said as he turned back, "And the maids are out there somewhere. They insisted on cooking but here I am." With that Bokuto hummed, craning his neck to look around and spotted two maids peeking at them from the pantry door. He gave them a huge smile and a thumbs up. He could make out faint blushes before one of them pointed at Akaashi and then at him and gave him a thumbs up.

Bokuto sputtered and waved his arms wildly at them in a Stop tf motion. The maids giggled and closed the door.

"So," Bokuto drawled out placing his chin on top his arm that rested on the counter, "You know how to cook?"

Akaashi nodded slowly flipping what Bokuto saw was a pancake on one pan, "Yeah. I wanted to try it and my mom insisted for some reason, says it would be of some help in the future."

"It paid off, didn't it. You're cooking for me now." Bokuto said folding his arms over his chest and leaning a bit back. He winked at Akaashi when he turned to him with an exasperated look.

Akaashi turned back to his food and said, "I guess it did. My dad got pissed though, kept saying it wasn't a prince's job to cook."

Bokuto nodded, "Well, he's right I guess. But I think it's only fitting since it's the wife's job to cook for his husband."

Akaashi dropped the spatula with a loud clang and turned to Bokuto with a menacing glare making him whimper and lift his hands up, "Or husband. You could be the husband that cooks for his wife."

The younger man sighed disbelievingly, "Honestly, Bokuto. I don't know what's going on in that mind of yours."

Bokuto doesn't have any idea what Akaashi's sexuality was because he never mentioned it and never told him about past relationships.

But the fact that his pitiful excuse of flirting kinda worked on Akaashi several times made him think that, who cares what his sexuality was? I'm quite taken to him and my petty advances are for him and him alone.

But deep in Bokuto's mind, his subconscious crouched on one corner, crossing his fingers and muttering repeatedly, " _Please be gay, please be gay_ -"

Akaashi turned to him holding two plates in his hands that were filled with a stack of fluffy looking pancakes, eggs, bacon and sausages. He slid the plates across the counter to Bokuto and said, "Eat up."

The food tasted better than what Bokuto's ever had in his entire life but don't tell his mom that, she'd be pissed. Bokuto complimented Akaashi happily making the man clear his throat and blush.

They ate rather quietly and cleaned up after themselves but only after they waved off the protests of not one and not two maids but four. It was pretty unusual having those sort of actions since these past few months they never really did any household work.

Akaashi was still in the kitchen when he received a text. He took the phone out of his sweat's pockets.

It was a text from Komi.

'Bokuto, tonight's ball will be masquerade themed. Better get a mask or something.'

He frowned at that and sent a quick text to his driver and asked him to buy two masks.

When Akaashi finished in the kitchen, they both climbed the stairs towards their own rooms and Bokuto took a quick shower before heading to his closet to look for a suit to wear from the many choices he had.

He scanned the racks and found an all-black pair that had the brand name William Fioravanti sewed at the collar's inside which he promptly ignored.

He changed into them and saw how the slacks fit him perfectly not like he actually paid attention to it. He chose a black dress shirt and fit his holster over it that already had two handguns in them, remembering what Kuroo said about bringing a gun or two when he went out. This was like 21 jump street or some shit.

He threw on the suit jacket and wore a polished pair of dress shoes to finish the usual all-black look he was going for. For some reason, Bokuto always liked monochrome anything which then reflected to the way he dressed himself.

and now all he needed was a tie. As he scanned the array, he heard a knock coming from the door and he shouted, "Coming!"

He bolted towards the door and his jaw dropped to the floor as he saw Akaashi wearing a suit almost similar to his, except that he wore a white button down over his jacket and he had a black bowtie. His hair was slicked back in a careless way making him look formal yet fun at the same time. Dang.

"Holy shit, 'Kaashi. You look hot." He whistled from the door, leaning on the threshold. Out of all the men Bokuto eyed ever since he grew that gay streak in his heart, Akaashi's the most beautiful one.

"You clean up well yourself." Akaashi said with a faint smile before pushing him aside to enter his room. "You're not done yet?"

Bokuto shook his head his hair flying dramatically, "I need a tie." Akaashi nodded and took it upon himself to look at his choices before lifting a grey one, "Here."

He accepted it and tried to tie it himself. The keyword is 'tried' because his attempts were fruitless. Akaashi suddenly stepped forward, "Let me do it."

Bokuto's hand stilled on his tie before he nodded and let go. He watched Akaashi closely as he did his tie, brows furrowing in concentration. Beautiful.

"Done." Akaashi patted Bokuto's chest before he turned to look at the mirror and Bokuto followed his example. They stared at each other from the mirror which made them both blush after a few seconds.

Akaashi then frowned at their reflections, "Just one more thing." He ran a hand through Bokuto's bangs since he didn't bother styling it up in an attempt of looking a bit formal.

"Your hair. Style it up." Akaashi said sternly.

Bokuro smiled at him sheepishly, "I'm trying to go for the formal look. I don't want to look like a delinquent."

Akaashi shook his head with a slight frown, "No. Who cares what you look like? You don't have to change yourself for other people."

Bokuto almost shed a tear then and there. Akaashi had this way of saying things out of the blue that could completely wreck his heart in a good way.

"Akaashi, you really have to stop making me fall inlove with you." Bokuto said as a joke but deep inside, he meant it. He meant it a lot.

Akaashi's eyes widened before he punched Bokuto softly in the gut, "Shut up." He said turning away, hiding his prominent blush.

Bokuto grabbed a bottle of gel before saying, "You know what, why don't you try and style my hair?"

Akaashi eyed the bottle reluctantly before nodding. He extended his arms after placing a huge amount of gel on his hands and did Bokuto's hair just like how he remembered it but a bit more toned down.

Bokuto chuckled at how Akaashi stood on his tippy-toes to fix his hair.

He suddenly felt his heart beat faster when he remembered the way Akaashi woke him up. He cooked for him too. He picked his tie for him and fixed it. And now Akaashi was styling his hair.

This seemed like something a married couple would do and it filled his heart with warmth that he'd never felt before.

He wanted to thank Akaashi yet again.

"Akaashi-" Bokuto said but he was interrupted by a loud ring. It was Akaashi's phone. He gave Bokuto an apologetic look before answering, "Dad? Yes. Yes, we're coming."

Akaashi pocketed his phone and looked at Bokuto, "You were saying?"

Bokuto smiled, "Nothing." Bokuto grabbed Akaashi's hand after he pocketed the small radio issued to them, "Let's go."

They darted downstairs and went over to the car already prepared for them. The ride took less than an hour with their driver flooring the it.

It was already 15 minutes past six when they arrived and saw that the mansion with it's front door opened welcomingly, was already full of guests. Women wore fancy gowns and men wore tuxedos.

Akaashi went out first and Bokuto asked the driver where the masks were.

The driver smiled at him and gave him a black box that had a gold print on the outside. He opened it and saw two half-face masks. One was gold and had black accents while the other's color looked like an inverted version of the first.

He took the masks out and thanked the driver before he went outside to where Akaashi was waiting. Akaashi was looking at the mansion with a frown on his face.

When Bokuto stepped out towards him he turned and said, "I didn't know it was a masquerade."

Bokuto smiled widely and showed him the masks, "Here. I asked the driver to get us these."

Akaashi smiled at him, "Thank you." Bokuto handed him the gold one and they walked inside without bothering about wearing the masks. They were hopeless.

As they went inside, Bokuto studied the hall. Chandeliers hung brightly on the ceiling, the tables were pushed to the side to make space for the royals who wandered about.

Akaashi's father spotted them immediately. "Keiji! Bokuto! You're here"

They greeted the king before they got dragged around the place, Bokuto fidgeting as he was introduced to so many royals.

They also spotted Kuroo wearing a black suit, red button down and black tie talking to a tall blonde with glasses and a smiling brunette while Kenma who wore the same colored suit, a red tie and a black button down, stood beside him, finally without a handheld game. And was his hair tied back into a ponytail?

Bokuto was also introduced to the royals from the kingdom of Johzenji. The son of the duke looked like a delinquent like him. He had blonde hair with an undercut and so many piercings.

He wore his suit properly though despite his appearance. Although his expression looked like he was some sort of mr. steal yo girl.

"Yuuji, this is Bokuto Koutarou. The son of the late earl, Hiro. Bokuto, this is Terushima Yuuji, the son of the duke of Johzenji" The king said introducing them. The king suddenly left when he was called by another royal. Bokuto noticed how many acquaintance the king had with the fact that he was always called out every minute. Bokuto mentally slapped himself, he's the king what'd you expect?

Terushima beamed at him, "Yo, bro! Nice to meet ya! I'm digging the hair a lot!" He slapped Bokuto's arm. Bokuto grinned at that and folded his arms over his chest giving him a faint tilt of his chin, "Hey, hey! I'm down for the piercings." I think I like this gu-

Terushima suddenly looked over his shoulder-, "Akaashi!"

Bokuto frowned as he looked at how Terushima brightened and bounded over to Akaashi who looked unpleased to see him, "Terushima."

"Awww~ you're always so mean." Terushima took Akaashi's hand and kissed the top of it, "It's always a pleasure to see you, my prince." Akaashi winced and took his hand back, "I'm not your prince."

"But you will be." Terushima smiled at Akaashi seductively and winked.

Who the hell was this guy?

Bokuto breathed in a sharp breath before he stepped towards them, glowering at Terushima who instinctively backed away and turned to Akaashi saying, "Excuse me but I think your father's calling you, 'Kaashi."

Akaashi gave him a faint and knowing smile, "Alright." Terushima whined and called out as Bokuto dragged Akaashi by the arm, "Remember to give me your number next time babe!"

The spike-haired man clenched his jaw tightly. Oh how he wanted to punch the guy.

He shook his head as he frowned, hand still clenched around Akaashi's arm weaving them past people who were talking and wandering around.

"Bokuto." Akaashi said in a soft voice from behind him as he was dragged along. "Bokuto, you can stop now."

Bokuto turned to him and saw the faint frown on Akaashi's face, so let him go and ran a hand through his hair, He breathed sharply and said, "Damn. I hate that guy."

Akaashi smiled at him meaningfully, "Bokuto, are you jealous?" Bokuto's eyes widened at that. He didn't know if he was jealous or whatever, all he knew was he acted out of spite for the piercing man.

Bokuto blushed as he realized that maybe he was getting carried away, "What? No." Akaashi crossed his arms over his chest and gave him a challenging look.

"Well, maybe a little." Bokuto mumbled and pouted. Yes, he was jealous and that was a first. He usually never got jealous when people talked to men or women he used to hit on. He got jealous when Kuroo or his other friends bonded with others without him but other than that, nadda. 

Akaashi snorted and poked his chest which he instinctively hardened,

_feel my muscles 'Kaashi,_

"You're adorable, you jealous oaf." Adorable?

"Pfft. I'm not that jealous." Bokuto snorted pretentiously. He was indeed that jealous.

Suddenly, Kiyoko called out from their left saying, "Bokuto, there's someone we want you to meet."

Bokuto turned to Akaashi who smiled encouragingly, "You go. I'll just be walking around for a while."

"But-"

"Bokuto."

"What if Terushima finds you? Or someone else hits on you? You won't have my manliness around."

"What manliness?"

"Akaashiii~"

"Haha. I'll be fine, Bokuto."

Bokuto sighed and ran a hand through his face, clicking his tongue, "Alright. I'll find you once I'm done."

"Alright then."

Bokuto followed Kiyoko reluctantly who looked mischievous despite herself. She then let out a huge sigh, "You take good care of our precious son, alright?"

Bokuto faltered on his steps, "O-of course! Yes ma'am!" she was probably just talking about keeping her son, the heir, safe. Yep, that was it.

Kiyok nodded. Bokuto followed her through the maze of people until she stopped in front of a small gathering of people. The king was also there, laughing his face off until he spotted him, "Bokuto! Come over here!"

He did so and then he was facing a couple of people. Normally, Bokuto was a people person and he hit it off with other pretty good but these people were different that those he'd met in malls or in the city. These people were royals who expecting him to be part of them and be like them and shit if that alone didn't pressure Bokuto.

"Keishin, this is Bokuto Koutarou. Long lost son of Hiro. Bokuto, this is Ukai Keishin, duke of Karasuno" The king introduced him to a blond man with piercings. Damn you Terushima.

"Pleased to meet you." He said as he shook the man's hand. He'd shake approximately twenty people's hand this night. That was more than his usual ten in clubs and bars.

The man nodded, "You look so much like Hiro." He smiled, not really knowing what to say. He'd been told that approximately ten times tonight. Bokuto cleared his head of all the things he'd managed to keep track of which was a pretty unusual thing for him.

The king of Karasuno turned to the other king, "Excuse me, Koutarou, Hayato. I need to look for my sons. They're probably making a mess right now- Ryuu, Yuu, Shoyō! What in the world?!"

Ukai turned away from them, bolting towards the buffet table and the mischievous looking boys wearing no suit jackets and only button downs that were rolled to their elbows, who were making a mess out of the chocolate fountain, dipping fried chicken into it. Those kids looked like fun people.

Beside them though, a short blonde girl wearing a pink dress fidgeted and kept shouting at them, no doubt telling them to stop their antics.

"Loud bunch they are. Especially the youngest." Hayato chuckled as he shook his head pointing at the redhead with suspenders.

Bokuto gave a polite smile and said, "They look like they're having fun."

Hayato nodded before turning to him, "Well, I think you should look for my son. You seem uncomfortable without him."

Bokuto almost choked on his spit, "Uhm-not really. Well, maybe. I have to go." He stammered making the king laugh and slap his back, "You can go now."

He nodded and then as he walked away, he heard the band play, filling the room with soft classical music and then people started pairing up and dancing.

He wore his mask because he didn't want to be stopped or called out as he looked for Akaashi. He weaved through the crowd and saw a familiar mask by the corner of the room.

He went over and smiled as the man spotted him. He held out a hand and said, "May I have this dance?"

Akaashi smiled at that and accepted his hand, "You may."

They went over to an empty spot and faced each other. Akaashi held Bokuto's hand and placed the other on his shoulder. Bokuto's hand slid down Akaashi's waist and rested it there.

He didn't really care about people seeing two men dancing together. It was the 21st century and people didn't really care much about that.

"So, you know how to dance?" Akaashi whispered as they swayed to the music, his steely green eyes shining from his mask.

Bokuto shrugged and smiled at him, "I know a thing or two." Bokuto did not know how to dance formally though he'd seen it a dozen times on tv and during prom (which he and managed to ruin by dumping an entire vodka bottle in the punch bowl but that was a story for another time). But thanks to all the times he'd went to clubs and bars, he knew how to move albeit less formally.

"Hmm? Why don't you show me that thing or two?" Akaashi said challenging him. Bokuto grinned dopily as he slid his hand up Akaashi's waist and to the small of his back. He hoped he wasn't crossing the line too much.

He gave Akaashi a huge smile before he pushed him closer making the man gasp in surprise. 

He reluctantly moved his face closer to Akaashi's ear and whispered, "That's one thing. It's not exactly a dance thing but it kind of is."

Akaashi chuckled beautifully and tightened his hand on Bokuto's, "This is a flirting thing." Bokuto, you are an idiot. You should stop taking things too far or else whatever you have right now will be for nothing.

Bokuto ended his internal rambling and gasped dramatically, "How did you know?!"

Akaashi shook his head and pinched Bokuto's neck, making him yelp. They continued to dance until Bokuto lifted his hand and placed Akaashi's to his other shoulder.

He slid his other hand to Akaashi's waist and whispered again, "This is another thing."

Akaashi blushed at that, "You're such a flirt." I know, 'Kaashi.

"Only to you." Bokuto said, winking from behind his mask. Damn. Damn. Damn. What am I saying. Bokuto knew he had strong feelings for Akaashi. In fact, he'd known it since the day he saw him in that bar looking out of place with his beauty inside a ragged location and it only grew stronger the closer they became with each other. He knew it was too gay, even for him but it was the truth.

Akaashi sighed and drew closer. Bokuto looked seriously at him and decided, fuck it. Hee wanted to tell him lots of things and ask him a lot more. He also wanted to make everything clear because if he didn't let off all these things in his heart, he's afraid it would burst, "Akaashi-" 

"Bokuto, what are we?" Akaashi cut him off. Bokuto's eyes widened at that and he faltered in his steps. What were they? He didn't know too but he sure as hell wanted to know.

He cleared his throat, "Whatever you want us to be."

Akaashi looked away, "It's just, I never really knew my preferences because I've never really dated." He shook his head in an embarrassed way, "..except for that one time my dad kind of pushed me into dating this girl named Yachi from Karasuno."

Well, that was new information. Bokuto wanted to push the subject but he guessed that Akaashi hated talking about that so instead he said,

"Well? What do you think about me?" Bokuto whispered as he stroked Akaashi's waist, "Do I fall short from your preferences."

Akaashi gave him a sincere smile, "Well, I think you're probably my only preference."

Bokuto breathed in a sharp breath. Oh god. Is this real. 

This was not something Bokuto expected he'd hear from Akaashi. This was more than what he could ever imagine.

"Akaa-"

"But, I don't know what to do and I think we're going too fast, we've only just met after all." Akaashi murmured as he bowed his head.

Bokuto's heart dropped to his stomach. And that evens everything out but he was right. They still had a long way to go and he'd wait and be beside Akaashi all throughout.

He tried to level his voice, "Then we should take it slow."

Akaashi smiled up at him and brushed the hair at his nape making him sigh contentedly.

He'd give Akaashi whatever he wanted.

Because even though he himself cannot narrow down what he felt in words and even in his own damned mind, he was sure that Akaashi has taken up residence in his heart and he doubted that it would change.


	9. In which Bokuto chases pavements

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey hey heyyy...im just here for the bang bang

Chapter 9

They continued to dance while making light conversation. Bokuto laughed louder than normal, his jokes getting more out of hand and he found that Akaashi smiled more than usual.

They danced together not noticing the approving glances the king and the queen shot their way. They did that for quite some time, moving their feet in sync, only stopping to remove their masks that they both stated were really annoying.

In Bokuto’s part though, he hated it because he couldn’t see the full extent of Akaashi’s beauty.

The two danced past Kuroo who danced with a red-faced Kenma, staring at him as if he held all the answers in the world. Bokuto would have to ask Kuroo about that the next time they talked because it was becoming really obvious yet still really confusing.

Well, it was not really Bokuto’s place to ask what Kuroo felt even though they were bros. And in truth it was never his place to ask anyone that despite their relation which made him move on to the thought of knowing exactly what Akaashi himself felt for him. Sure, his words earlier carried so much meaning especially for Bokuto but he couldn’t help but wonder.

He also couldn’t stop himself from trying to figure out what wandered about in Akaashi’s mind as he stared at his green eyes intently.

Akaashi seemed to notice the sudden seriousness in his expression making him ask, “What’s wrong?”

Bokuto blinked before he cleared his throat and smiled reassuringly, “Nothing.”

The prince raised an eyebrow, “Are you certain?”

Bokuto laughed boisterously at that and wiggled his eyebrows, “I am certain, your majesty.”

Akaashi gave him a menacing glare, “Don't sass me."

Bokuto laughed at that and tightened his hand on Akaashi's slim waist.

They danced for a while before chaos ensued. 

 A gunshot rang inside the hall and the people's shouts erupted. Bokuto shouted as he hugged Akaashi close to his chest, "What the fuck was that?"

 "Bokuto, I think someone got shot!" Akaashi said as he tried to see past Bokuto. Bokuto looked at him sharply, "Stay down!" He pulled a gun out of his holster and scanned the crowd.

People were panicking and shouting, their voices ringing inside the hall as they pushed towards the entrance. He saw some of his men helping people who got trampled by the others who weren't paying attention and their minds only set on getting out. 

 He looked around as he kept Akaashi behind him. He spotted Kuroo doing the same for Kenma. Bokuto went over to Kuroo and shouted over the chaos, "Did someone get shot?!"

 Kuroo shouted back, "I don't know!" They pushed through the waves of people, dragging Akaashi and Kenma behind them. Kuroo managed to get Kenma into one of the common rooms before running back.

 "Look for the gunmen!" Bokuto shouted to his men who came to the ball. They nodded and ran, shouting to their headsets.

 Bokuto turned to Akaashi, "'Kaashi, you have to-" Bokuto frowned as he saw Akaashi covering his mouth with his hand, tears shining in his eyes.

 "What-" Bokuto said as he turned around. And then he saw who got shot.

 "DAD!" Akaashi screamed hysterically as he tried to push against Bokuto who had a firm grip on his waist. "Akaashi, no! The gunman could still be here-" 

"No! Bokuto, let me go!" Akaashi screamed as he removed his grip from his waist finally pushing past Bokuto and running towards Hayato being cradled by Kiyoko.

 Bokuto cursed as he ran after Akaashi. The younger man ran and fell to his knees immediately, his hands shaking as he touched his dad's arm, "Dad!!"

 Bokuto reached them and he saw that Hayato was shot in his right shoulder. The blood pouring towards Kiyoko's gown. Kiyoko was sobbing and pressing a hand to the wound.

 Bokuto screamed for Kuroo when he spotted him, who ran to them in the midst of the chaos. Kuroo immediately bent over the king and assessed the wound. 

 "The bullet is still inside. His bones are most likely fractured. We need paramedics!" Kuroo said as he pressed a hand to his ear, activating his headset. "Paramedics in the main hall, the king is shot!"

 Bokuto approached Kiyoko, crouching down and held her shoulder, "Did you see the gunman? What did he look like?"

 Kiyoko looked at him with glazed eyes and the answered briefly in between breaths, "A plain white mask."

 Bokuto nodded and then a movement caught his eye. He twisted his body only to see a dark figure darting behind the pillars. Something silver glinted in his hand, it was a pistol. He could clearly see the white of his mask. 

 He tightened his grip on the gun, "Stay with Kuroo, Akaashi!" He screamed, he might have heard a sound of protest but he ignored it before running towards the man who ran out the small unused side door that lead to the gardens.

 He cocked his gun and fired at the gunman, the recoil surprising him a bit. He shot the gunman's arm making him let out a yelp but kept going. Bokuto cursed and ran faster.

 A thought racked his mind,  _this was his first time_. The first time he'd held a gun in some form of action. The first time he'd shot someone. Can he even do this? Can he shoot someone without regrets?

 He shook the thought out of his mind. Junko's voice rang in his head, 

  _Emotions cloud your judgement when in the field._

 Bokuto kept running and running. They crossed the gardens and he fired again, narrowly missing the man's head. The man suddenly turned towards him and fired. 

 Pain erupted in Bokuto's left arm as he felt the bullet tear through his skin and pass right back out.

 He brought a hand to his injured arm and cursed, "Fuck!"

 They were nearing the gate and Bokuto slowed down significantly after being shot in the arm. He shot multiple times but he kept missing by a hair's length. 

 As he drew closer he noticed something on the man's neck as he passed by a light. It was a tattoo but he couldn't distinguish what it was. Just a sort of circle with one side shaded black.

 As the gunman neared the gate a bike suddenly stopped and the man got on then the driver wearing a similar mask floored the bike.

 Bokuto bolted and shot his last round while the gunman did the same. The other man missed but Bokuto managed to shoot his hand, making him drop the gun.

 He ran over to where the man dropped the gun and cursed when he saw that it was covered in blood. They can't take fingerprints off them now. 

 He caught his breath and slumped forward, clutching at his injured arm. He brought out his radio, "Kuroo." He called out, and immediately got an answer, "Bokuto! Where are you?!"

 "I chased the gunman. He wore a mask and his gun got soaked in blood. He rode a bike with another guy and fled the scene." He reported.  

"Fuck." Kuroo cursed loudly. Bokuto tightened his hand on the radio and asked, "Is Akaashi with you?"

"Yeah, he's with his mom." Kuroo replied.

Bokuto could hear flurries of noises from the other end and made out a familiar voice, "Is he alright?" It was Akaashi.

Bokuto's heart swelled with warmth. Akaashi really did care, huh?

"He's fine." Kuroo answered promptly before saying, "Bo, you should get back to the mansion right now. We're in the first floor infirmary." Kuroo informed

"Copy." Bokuto said animatedly as he winced at the amount of blood pouring out of his wound. He picked the blood soaked gun and placed it inside his back pocket.

He walked back to the mansion that was mostly empty and immediately got swarmed by his men asking if he was alright. He nodded and waved them off after telling them to inspect the cctv footages of the night.

There were also people from the media being kept back by the guards. Are these people even scared of dying?

He managed to find the infirmary in the first floor. There were doctors moving about, swarming the king who lied unconscious on the bed, looking pale.

"We need to prep him for surgery!" A doctor shouted orders to the others.

"Bokuto, hey! Over here!" Kuroo shouted at him from where he sat with Kiyoko and Akaashi sobbing against each other. Akaashi lifted his head to look at him, his eyes red with tears and immediately stood up.

Bokuto went over to them. Kuroo spoke, "What exactly-" Kuroo stopped as his eyes went over to Bokuto's arm. "You were shot?!"

Akaashi bolted towards him, "Bokuto, are you okay?" Akaashi said frantically as he looked at Bokuto's arm, "There's so much blood!"

Bokuto smiled at him and held his hand, "I'm fine. Just a scratch." Kuroo was having none of it. He lead Bokuto towards one of the beds and told him to remove his jacket and shirt. Bokuto placed the gun from his back pocket on the table, "Got this from the gunman."

Akaashi sat on a chair in front of him looking distressed. Bokuto squeezed his hand reassuringly before letting go and taking his jacket off and then his holster followed by his dress shirt. 

Kuroo inspected the wound that surprisingly was deep. The bullet must have just cut his skin and flesh open. Akaashi frowned at him, "Just a scratch?"

Bokuto smiled sheepishly, he wanted to ask how Akaashi was given that his father just got shot but he figured that would be a terrible question since he knew he was not at all, well. 

Kuroo managed to get a hold of a stitching kit and a vial of anesthetic. As Kuroo prepped for stitches, Akaashi asked him, "You know what you're doing, right?"

Bokuto snorted at that, "He may not look like much but he's a medicine graduate."

Kuroo suddenly injected the anesthetic to Bokuto's arm making him yelp and squeeze Akaashi's hand, "Bro! Careful!"

"Oh sorry." Kuroo said sarcastically, he was not sorry at all. He started stitching Bokuto's arm after the anesthetic settled. 

Akaashi suddenly let go of Bokuto's hand and stood up as he saw his father being wheeled away in a stretcher. Kiyoko placed a hand on his shoulder, "Keiji. He's gonna get operated in the next room. Don't worry, he'll be fine." Akaashi sat back down, nodding.

Kiyoko nodded towards Bokuto, tapping his shoulder lightly before walking away.

Bokuto couldn't help but ask this time, "Hey, Akaashi? You alright?"

Akaashi sighed before slumping forward, running a hand through his hair, "I don't know."

Bokuto didn't push it after that. He kept quiet until he felt Kuroo tap his shoulder, "You're done, bro. This should heal relatively fast since it just tore through your flesh." He looked at his bandaged wound and gave Kuroo a fist bump, "Thanks bro." 

"Nah. Just don't move around too much and end up tearing the stitches."

"Yep! Oh hey, where's Kenma?" Bokuto asked while Kuroo arranged the things back into the kit. "He went back to hq, said he was gonna try and locate the guy with the street footages."

Bokuto nodded. He looked at Akaashi who stood and went over to the door. Bokuto scrambled and got up, placing the pistol inside a ziplock bag and wearing his torn button down before following him after a quick, "Bro, let's go" to Kuroo.

Akaashi was already in the car when Bokuto noticed that there were several reporters standing outside still being held back by guards.

One reporter managed to worm her way into the wall of guards along with her cameraman. They immediately bounded towards an unsuspecting Bokuto.

"Excuse me!" The reporter screamed as he walked startling him as he turned to look at her. The camera and a gigantic focus light was already pointed his way. Holy shit.

"Bokuto Koutarou, long lost son of the late earl Hiro, am I correct?" The reporter shoved the huge mic to his face making him lean back a bit. Wtf the fuck, this woman should lay off on the sugar

He only nodded and stared at her.

The reporter's face brightened, "Can you please tell us what happened?"

Bokuto frowned at that. He remembered Akaashi telling him that there will be media during events and you can't even really avoid being cornered so if that happens, give the briefest statement you can and avoid revealing too much things.

He looked at the reporter and said, "As far as I can see, someone tried to murder the king. That already made itself clear. We don't know who but we'll find out soon. Excuse me."Oh shit he sounded awesome

He walked away as the reporter still kept asking questions and following him. He waved her off which made her stop.

Bokuto went inside the car and saw that Kuroo too got questioned but like him, he gave a brief answer. 

Kuroo went over to his own car while Bokuto and Akaashi sat inside theirs.

They rode back to the house and immediately went downstairs to the headquarters. They went into the control room and saw Kenma standing over the large screens. 

He turned when he heard the door open and gave a sigh, "They rode past places where our surveillance doesn't cover, they also shot down some of the cameras in the mansion."

Bokuto cursed and took out the gun, "Maybe this will help. There's nothing much we can use."

Kenma nodded and gingerly took the bag containing the gun, "Maybe I can take a look at firearm records. The serial number should be able to pinpoint the owner." He said. They all nodded and Kenma walked over to his work station, hands immediately flying over his keyboard.

He turned his swivel chair and stared at them with a bored expression, "This should take about a day. The records are protected but that's something I can handle. The real problem here is maneuvering over thousands of records that are years old and date back to rifles with bayonets or something."

 Kuroo snorted a bit and so did Bokuto. 

 "Maybe we can use the blood on the gun?" Bokuto offered

 "We may be able to distinguish blood types but we can't narrow down the person in so many hospital records. Basically it's useless." Kenma explained.

Akaashi remained stoic, "Alright. As long as we have a clue."

Bokuto clasped Akaashi's hand and gave it a quick squeeze, "We're gonna find the man who shot your dad, Akaashi. Trust me."

"I know." Akaashi whispered, his voice breaking. 

"Alright then!" Bokuto announced, "Let's all get down to business." He told Kuroo, Kenma and Akaashi to go with him to the office. 

Kenma brought with him his laptop so that he could work while they tried to figure stuff out.

"We don't really have anything, don't we?" Bokuto said as he stood in front of his desk and rifled through documents about mafias and armed forces. He winced a bit when he moved his injured arm too fast.

Kenma spoke up, "Well we do have the gun. But we can't be sure that it'll lead to the gunman because if they have half a brain, they won't use a gun that's registered to their name."

Kuroo crossed his arms and leaned back on the couch, his arms crossed and feet resting on the coffee table, "Well let's just hope they're stupid, shall we?"

Kenma rolled his eyes as he continued to stare at the codes on his laptop, "I'd like to meet whoever put up these codes because they're pretty good."

"I think someone from Karasuno did that." Akaashi said as he himself sat behind Bokuto's table, looking at the soft copies on the computer. 

"Oh? From another country?" Kuroo asked as he lifted an eyebrow, "Who?"

Akaashi frowned in thought and looked at Kuroo, "Some guy named Hinata or Kageyama or something."

Kuroo nodded, "I'd like to have a word with him." He looked at Kenma meaningfully. 

Bokuto snorted, "Why, you jealous he's gonna steal your Kenma?"

"I'm not his Kenma." The mentioned man said with a frown. "And it's not like I'm gonna marry the guy."

"But what if you did meet and then you'd fall inlove with him at first sight?" Kuroo said dramatically, placing a hand over his chest jokingly.

"I won't fall in love with anyone." Kenma said sternly. "I already am." He mumbled softly like he didn't intend for them to hear.

Three heads turned to look at him with wide eyes. Kuroo's jaw slackened, "Kenma-"

Kenma's eyes widened a fraction before returning to his blank look, he skipped his eyes over each one of them and simply said, "Don't ask me about it. Ever."

They all fell silent at that. Especially Kuroo who looked like the world was about to end. The silence stretched for a bit longer before Bokuto gave Akaashi a look from in front of him. Akaashi just shrugged.

Bokuto looked at the clock on the wall and it said 11:37. It was still relatively early.

He sat on the table beside Kuroo who slumped forward to look at what Kenma was doing. Bokuto stood up to go to another table and somehow in the back of his mind he knew he was pacing. He kept rifling through the files and something caught his eye.

It was the label in bold red, blocky letterswhere the group name was supposed to be.

Group name: N/A

 'Transport group of illegal drugs and firearms overseas. Distinguished by identical tattoos.'

Bokuto frowned at the short description. He flipped over to the next page with a case report,

_January 15, 1992_

_Cargo raid conducted by Fukurodani lead by Kuroo Junko._

_Retrieved: 50 kgs. of heroine, 10 kgs. MDMA. 50 crates of illegal firearms._

_40 enemy casualties. None from Fukurodani._

_Group put out of comission._

Bokuto turned to the next page, frowning as his eyes caught the date.

 

_September 29, 1995_  

It was just a couple of days after his birthday _._

_Headquarter attack by enemy group_

_24 Fukurodani casualties. 10 enemy casualties._

 

Case status: ongoing 

Group status: active

 

But the first report said the group was put out of commission. They might have kept really quiet after the raid. 

 

_October 12, 2005_

 ' _No case clues found. Enemy group out of commission. Cause unknown'_

  _Case status: closed_

_Group status: inactive_

 

That was 10 years ago. As Bokuto looked at the next page where the distinguishing pictures were printed, a brief flash went through his mind and he immediately stood effectively startling the other three, "I think I found something!"

He went over to Akaashi who stood up and went around the table where Bokuto stood. Kuroo and Kenma did the same thing and they all crowded around the pieces of paper Bokuto placed on the table.

"This group. They might have something to do with the attack tonight." Bokuto said as he lifted the paper and showed him the exact page he last turned to.

It had close-up pictures of corpses having the same tattoos on different places. They were tattoos of yin-yang symbols about two inches wide.

"These tattoos." Bokuto pointed, "I think I saw them on the gunman. The driver also had something circle and had one side shaded black by the back of his hand."

Akaashi took the paper and inspected the file from the beginning, "Are you sure, Bokuto? It says here that the group is inactive and the last case report was about 10 years ago."

Bokuto frowned, "I'm not really sure but these tattoos look really similar to the one's I saw on the gunman and the biker."

"It's pretty common for gangs to have tattoos that distinguish themselves. We can't really say that this group is earlier's culprit." Akaashi said silently, "Maybe they had a similar design."

"But it's worth a shot." Kuroo supplied not realizing the agonizing pun he just made, "We could be chasing a non-existent group but maybe Bokuto's right." He pointed at the date of the last report, "This was ten years ago but the first and second report state that this yin-yang group waited for at least two years for their counterattack."

Bokuto nodded vigorously, "Exactly. Maybe they laid low for a while-"

"Or maybe they were waiting for something." Both Akaashi and Kenma said at the same time. They looked at each other before Akaashi nodded at Kenma who spoke, 

"They didn't really seem like having a particular pattern and that's what makes this confusing. But when we think about it, they seemed to be waiting for the perfect time to bring the Fukurodani group down." Kenma explained.

"And what exactly is that time?" Kuroo inquired

"Bokuto, I saw in your documents that you were born on September 20, 1995. Correct me if I'm wrong." Akaashi looked at him. Bokuto shook his head, "You're right." 

Akaashi nodded, "Well, the date of the counterattack was September  _29_ , 1995. Nine days after you were born."

"Aand-?" It's not like Bokuto couldn't catch up to their train of ideas, it's just that they're being pretty into it with the suspense.

"You just came back to the headquarters as a royal right? And then on the day you were introduced to other royals as the earl's son, the attack happened." Kenma finished.

"So you're saying, someone's trying to kill Bokuto?" Kuroo asked as he looked at Akaashi and then at Kenma.

"We're not saying that exactly. It's just that Bokuto seems like some sort of trigger for them to attack. Last night, they attacked the king so that makes it clear that they weren't after Bokuto." Kenma explained, "They could have shot him directly."

"Unless they were trying to make their presence felt or something?" Bokuto said fidgeting at the thought of being targeted. 

_What the heck bro. You knew you were gonna be a walking target since the day you accepted the job. Stop being such a baby_.

They all went quiet. All in deep thought.

Bokuto sighed and broke the silence, "Still, like you guys said, we're not sure that this group was behind the attack."

Kuroo nodded, "And we still haven't considered that maybe that was like a two-man job. There were just two of them after all."

"Maybe they had personal vendettas against the king." Kenma added.

Bokuto's head swam when he thought of everything. There were so many possibilities and they were certain of absolutely nothing.

Akaashi brought a hand up as if trying to give an answer in class, "And about this group, I doubt they'd known about Bokuto since he was never introduced to people other than my parents and the people here whom I know will never give out a single word. And I don't think that this group could bring up an attack minutes after he was introduced."

There was a pregnant pause as the mood around them shifted. They were all thinking of the possibilities without even having solid clues to work with.

Bokuto brought a hand to his head, "All this thinking is giving me a headache."

Akaashi murmured, "That's why we're here to do the thinking."

 That eased the tension around them. Kuroo actually laughed and Kenma looked away, huffing. Bokuto actually felt offended.

 Akaashi spoke, "We'll look for more connections but in the mean time, all we have is the gun. Maybe we'll find something after digging around but that isn't certain. But we should keep this group as a viable suspect."

"Alright, let's all head back up." Bokuto announced, "We might receive more clues tomorrow and I'm pretty sure you can't move your asses if you don't go to sleep."

"Speak for yourself bro." Kuroo said smacking his chest, "You were the one who chased the gunman and got shot. Not us."

Bokuto huffed, "I'm a man of steel."

Kenma nodded before sitting back on the table, "You guys go ahead. I still have to load up a hacking system for this."

"I'll stay with you." Kuroo plopped down beside Kenma giving him a small smile.

Kenma looked at him briefly before turning back to the screen and mumbling, "'k then"

Akaashi didn't speak to Bokuto as they went back up to the house and Bokuto didn't start a conversation. He felt as though Akaashi needed time to think.

Surprisingly, it was Akaashi who broke the silence, head down with his hand on his bedroom door, "Bokuto."

Bokuto immediately turned to him, "What is it, Akaashi?"

"You shouldn't have done that." Akaashi said sternly.

Bokuto frowned stepping forward, "Done what?"

Akaashi looked at him, a blank look on his face before raising his voice which startled Bokuto, "You shouldn't have chased the guy. What if there were more of them?"

Bokuto stepped back, "What? But because of that I got the gun and I saw the tat-"

"Yes!" Akaashi's voice rose, surprising Bokuto since Akaashi never really did that with the patience he had, "You got some clues but didn't you even think of the consequences before you started chasing him?! What if there were more of them?! You could have called on your men!" Akaashi gestured with his hands wildly. It was a rare sight for Bokuto.

Bokuto stepped forward extending his hand, "But I'm fine. And aren't you glad that I got something out of it?"

"You could have died!" Akaashi's fists were clenched now. He looked away as if he was trying to control himself and evening his breath. He said in a much calmer voice, "I'm thankful that you found something but that isn't an excuse to just go barreling into situations like a madman."

Bokuto never really imagined it being a situation where he'd die or something. When he thought about it, he almost punched himself. It was like he didn't even think, more so than usual. He just wanted to chase the guy. He wanted to fire his gun. He wanted to be of more use.

And now there he was, looking at Akaashi who seethed with anger. And there was only one word in his mind,

"Sorry." He whispered as he looked at the ground and fiddled with the edge of his button down.

"You should be careful, Bokuto. Look at what happened to you, you were shot for heaven's sake." Akaashi whispered

"I know, I know. I'm sorry."

"You know what? Forget that I said that. I was scared, that's all." Akaashi said turning away.

"You were scared?" Bokuto's eyes widened. "Why?"

"You know why." Akaashi murmured. Bokuto stepped forward and held his face between his hands, scanning his eyes, "I'm sorry, Akaashi. I didn't know."

Akaashi sighed and stared up at him, "Now you know. Stop being an idiot."

Bokuto smiled at him, "I don't think that can be helped."

Akaashi's quirked his lip in a faint smile, "Well, become a lesser idiot."

"Alright then. Challenge accepted." Bokuto smiled goofily at him and removed his hands from Akaashi's face. 

"You should go to sleep." He said softly. Akaashi nodded and said, "Alright. Take some painkillers before going to sleep. Good night, Bokuto."

"I will. Good night!" Bokuto stood by the door and watched Akaashi go inside his own room. 

 He brought a hand to his chest. It was aching for some reason like it was being squeezed from inside and his stomach felt as though he was on a rollercoaster or a plane that's having trouble with air pockets.

He felt these things mostly when Akaashi was there but they were pretty subtle. But now it was the only thing he felt. 

 It was like he couldn't make sense of other things except that it was there and it didn't really feel that uncomfortable. It was just kind of strange..but in a good way.


	10. In which Bokuto is overwhelmed

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HEy hey heyyyy! I havent updated in a while and it's because i accidentally deleted all the chapters i wrote in my pc when i ran my antivirus and now i have to start over and remember the exact detail of everything that happened after the previous update :D  
> This chapter is a bit unedited and goofy bc like i mentioned, where be my damned plotttt -.- and i kind of enjoyed writing my angsty kuroken fic a bit too much im sorry :D  
> i hope you like it thoooo :D

 

"Kenma's pissed. Like really pissed." Kuroo said as he sipped on his latte, leaning on Bokuto's table. 

 

Bokuto looked up from the reports he was scanning, "What? He doesn't look pissed at all." He looked at Kenma who sat by the counter in small kitchen, laptop in front of him and hands flying about on the keyboard. 

 

He sort of made that space his personal office in Bokuto's office in the past 12 hours.

 

"Turns out the serial number was registered to a guy named Bob Bobby." Kuroo shrugged looking at the said man.

 

Bokuto couldn’t contain his laughter.

 

Kenma's head snapped to their direction, his eyes blazing. Oh shit, Bokuto thought, that's the face of a pissed man.

 

"We all knew that was something obvious. Now I’m gonna spend my time looking over criminal and medical." Kenma snapped and turned towards the laptop.

 

“So you’re using the blood?” Akaashi asked with a worried look. Bokuto almost forgot how much Akaashi wanted to find out who the hell it was who shot his father.

 

“Yeah. I have no other choice.” Kenma mumbled and tapped furiously on the keyboard.

 

"Alright, alright babe, chill." Kuroo said bringing his hands up in a placating gesture. 

 

Bokuto thought he heard Kenma hiss and he was sure Kuroo whimpered.

 

"Stop calling me that, you lamppost." Kenma said sternly and looked back at his laptop.

 

"Lamppost?" Kuroo gasped, "My place has evolved! You used to call me a telephone pole!"

 

"I don't see the difference, really." Akaashi spoke up from his own laptop, typing in reports that were no doubt for his father.

 

Speaking of his father, the king already went through surgery but he was still unconscious and they were still running tests on him.

 

"Well, my prince-" 

 

"No." Akaashi said automatically 

 

"Jezez what's wrong with you guys today." Kuroo stated incredulously, "Anyways as I was saying, the difference is that a lamppost actually has a lightbulb and is pretty decent."

 

"And-?"

 

"And a telephone pole is just up there and messy with all those wires yanno." Kuroo explained gesturing with his hand as if he couldn't believe he'd be compared to such a thing.

 

"Awww~~ bro. That fits you perfectly!" Bokuto cooed.

 

Kenma murmured, "That's what I told him."

 

"I think so too. You're lanky like a pole." Akaashi commented, scrolling his mouse.

 

"And the wires stand as your hair!" Bokuto finished excitedly

 

"Why are you guys ganging up on me?!"

 

Their banter got cut off when Junko entered the room. "You said you wanted to talk to me, Koutarou?"

 

Bokuto stood up, "Yes. It's about this particular group-"

 

"You know I'm retired now, don't you?" Junko said as he sat in front of Bokuto's table.

 

"I know you dad. You'd jump at the chance to help on a report." Kuroo said as a matter-of-factly.

 

Junko shot his son a look, "I guess I do. So what is this about?"

 

Bokuto's hand went to the document on his table and handed it to Junko who scanned it immediately.

 

"That first report. It said that you were the one who lead the raid." Bokuto stated.

 

Junko frowned, "I did lead this raid. What about it?"

 

"Can you tell us about it?" Akaashi said stepping towards them, abandoning his report.

 

Junko scratched his neck, "Well it was like any other raid. They were pushing it too far. The drugs and unregistered firearms were getting out of hand and they killed people who went against them. Even fellow criminal groups."

 

Kenma had also abandoned his laptop and went over to them. Junko gave him a small wave and he nonchalantly lifted a hand.

 

"So you were forced to do a raid?" Akaashi asked.

 

Junko looked at him blankly, "We would have done a raid even if they were being subtle but that raid would have been significantly less violent."

 

"Less violent?" Kuroo questioned already sitting on the desk.

 

Junko sighed, "We killed more people than usual. They fought back, retaliated." He pointed at the casualties and the four of them leaned over to look at the casualty count.

 

"Forty?" Akaashi looked at the older man quizzically, "That should have wiped an entire group off."

 

"That's right." Kenma spoke quietly, "Most groups have significantly less members."

 

"We also thought that we wiped off the entire rank but we were wrong. Turns out there were more of them." Junko said.

 

"Did you find anything interesting about them or something that deserves a second look?" Akaashi asked, his voice all formal and stiff. He's in total prince mode.

 

Junko shook his head, "No. Their attack was simply a form of revenge and sort of like telling us that they too were strong."

 

"But you didn't retaliate. Why?" Akaashi crossed his arms.

 

"Because they seemed to have disappeared off the face of the earth. They cleared out their warehouses and all their connections were cut off." Junko said simply

 

Bokuto cleared his throat, "When you said back then that there was trouble in the ranks, I remember you mentioning it was during the time when my mom was pregnant with me."

 

"Yes. There seemed to have been a mouse in our men since information kept getting leaked." Junko cleared up. 

 

"What about the group attacking after Bokuto was born?" Akaashi asked  


"I believe that- that was just pure coincidence. There was no way anyone could have known the earl's wife was pregnant because when she started carrying Bokuto, only a few people knew she was pregnant, mainly the men in our ranks." Junko explained.  


"But you just said there was a spy back then? Someone must have informed other people about the earl's wife being pregnant." Kenma stated.  


"What for?" Bokuto asked incredulously, "A single child could not have been that much of a big deal."  


"Exactly." Junko said, "That was why we dismissed the idea of the attack being connected to you."  


They were silent after that. Apparently Junko was in a hurry so he stood up after sparing a glance at the clock, "I guess that's the only time I've got left. I'm gonna check on the king and make sure he's alright." He nodded at Akaashi who grimaced.  


When Junko left they all went back to their respective corners except Kuroo who decided it was more fun to bother Kenma.

 

"Kenmaaa~" He whined poking the other guy's side. Kenma snapped, "What do you want?"

 

"Talk to mee~" He whimpered as he proceeded his prodding. 

 

Kenma still looking at the laptop, wrenched Kuroo's finger off his stomach making the older guy yelp, "Kenma I think you broke my finger!"

 

"Wonderful." Kenma said plainly. Bokuto spoke up from his desk, "Kuroo, are you really that bored?"

 

"I'm bored 'cause I don't have anything important to do unlike you guys." Kuroo whined going back to poking Kenma's side with another finger.

 

"Which is why you should stop bothering me. This is important." The blonde said.

 

Bokuto brought out his phone and barked out as he tossed it using his uninjured arm towards Kuroo, "Bro! Think fast!"

 

Kuroo turned with wide eyes and with his fast reflexes he caught the phone and looked at Bokuto, "What do you want me to do with this."

 

"Check the voicemails. They've been blowing up all of the sudden." Bokuto said without turning to him, "I think they're mostly from Oikawa."

 

Kuroo grinned menacingly, "This is going to be fun." Kuroo scrolled down to the first one which was pretty far given that there were probably 40 voicemails since yesterday last night.

 

Kuroo pressed the one from Oikawa and his voice suddenly boomed making everyone in the room wince in surprise,  _"KOU-CHAAAAAN YOU'RE ON TV TONIGHTTT~~~ WHATUR U DOING ON TV?!"_

 

They could hear telltale sounds of a tv in the distance. Suddenly there was static and a suspicious sound of smacking _,_

 

 _"Listen to the report you idiot!"_  It was Iwaizumi

 

Oikawa whined _, "Alright why is it that Bokuto's on tv before me- ZOMFG YOURE AN EARL?!"_

 

The message got cut off and then Kuroo opened the next one still from Oikawa, 

_"YOU HAVE BETRAYED MY TRUST KOUTAROU-CHANNN~ WHY WOULD YOU SHOW YOURSELF ON TV WHEREAS ME MYSELF HAVE NOT"_

 

 _"What is it with you and those Japanese honoraries."_ Iwaizumi murmured before there was some shuffling _, "Ey yo Bokuto, I can't believe you're a royal. You used to hate those guys."_

 

 _I sure as hell did,_ Bokuto thought then he looked at Akaashi typing on his laptop,  _now all my hatred has come to bite me in the ass. I might even have fallen for the highest noble._

 

Akaashi glanced at him with a raised eyebrow and he immediately averted his eyes.

 

Why was he so beautiful?

Bokuto looked at Akaashi again and stared at him openly.

 

But Oikawa ruined his aesthetic-lead trance.

 

 _"TETSU?! WHY'S HE THERE TOOOO?! Iwa-chan does this mean they have surpassed my looks-"_ And yet again it was cut off _._

 

Kuroo and Bokuto were laughing in the office. Leave it to Oikawa to bother more about being on tv and those looks rather than them being royals _._ Akaashi chuckled from his seat and Kenma bit his lip.

 

The other messages from Oikawa were one to two worded such as:

 

_"Betrayal."_

 

_"Traitors."_

 

_"BETRAITORS."_

 

_"I'm hurt."_

 

 _"Not friends."_ Etcetera

 

Bokuto asked Kuroo, "You didn't get messages like that, bro?"

 

Kuroo shrugged as he scrolled through the phone, "My phone's been on airplane mode since like, forever."

 

Bokuto nodded, "Understandable considering you ain't got lassies." Akaashi gave him a disbelieving look.

 

"Well, excu-huse me. I got more lassies than you." Kuroo said sassily earning him a look from Kenma which he just replied to with a wiggle of his eyebrows.

 

Kuroo opened another message. It was from Ushijima:

 

_"It has come to my attention that you Bokuto and Kuroo are royals. This surely explains your sudden transfer. You will do good as part of the leaders of our country for I know the royalty will cultivate you and you will be on sufficient and healthy grounds when it comes to your strengths furthermore I feel as though your secrets were well-kept although I am saddened that you have deemed me unworthy of such information but even so fare well my friends."_

 

Kuroo and Bokuto shared a look. Bokuto spoke, _"_ Duude, did he even breathe?"

 

Kuroo shrugged, "Beats me. He sounds like-uhm,-" Kuroo twisted and swayed, Bokuto's phone in hand and trying to think of something to describe Ushijima with.

 

"He sounds like he's running for republican presidency. He's so nonchalant it's funny." Bokuto said chuckling, "Ushijima is life."

 

"Damn, so true."

 

The last one was from Daichi,  _"Bokuto? Good morning. I saw you on tv today. So you're an earl, huh? Why didn't you tell us? Kuroo too. This is probably what made you guys move out. Anyways it'd be great if the five of us met up and then we could talk about all this since the both of you've chosen no to tell us which is not a great thing. Bye."_

 

"Is that your Dadchi?" Akaashi asked. "Because it sure as hell sounds like he is."

 

"He indeed is our Dadchi." Kuroo agreed fiddling with Bokuto's phone and typing really fast.

 

Bokuto actually wanted to tell his friends about him and Kuroo being royals but he was afraid and he didn't know whether he was allowed to do so.

 

"Well? Let's go, bro." Kuroo said standing up straight and tossing the phone back to Bokuto who caught it wincing a bit as he felt his arm throb.

 

Bokuto frowned, "Where?"

 

"Uhmm- Meet up with them? I already texted Daichi and I'm pretty sure they're all free since it's a Sunday. We can bring Kenma and Akaashi, Oikawa will seriously freak the hell out." Kuroo answered.

 

"Are you  _seriously_  considering this, Kuro?" Kenma stated, "We're in the middle of a case."

 

Kuroo shrugged, "What case? We have no leads, all we have is the gun and our suspicions don't have solid proof."

 

Kenma sighed and massaged his temple, "I can't believe you."

 

"No Kenma, hear me out. Guys," Kuroo said looking around. Akaashi had a fist under his chin studying Kuroo while Bokuto just gave him a wary look.

 

"I know we're in the middle of a case and all but we have nothing else other than what Kenma has and he can very well leave it for an hour or two." Kuroo explained still unfazed by the looks he'd received. 

 

Kuroo sighed, "We've all been working our asses off even though this only happened last night. Think of this as our last hallelujah before we get swallowed up by this case and the clues that we are sure to receive."

 

"Well, if you put it that way-" Akaashi said considerably and looked at Bokuto with a faint smile.

 

Oh shit, there goes my heart.

 

Bokuto smiled back at him not really knowing what to do.

 

"I can't believe you're agreeing to this, Keiji." Kenma murmured. 

 

Bokuto's eyes widened promptly. Since when were these two in the first name basis? He'd have to ask Akaashi about that later.

 

"Well, Kuroo is right. It probably wouldn't hurt." Akaashi said, leaning forward cradling his face with a hand. 

 

He's so beautiful, Bokuto repeated and stared at him before Kuroo suddenly called out his name, "Ey bro, what about you?"

 

He turned to Kuroo with a wide smile, "Well if Akaashi agrees, then count me in!" Pumping his arms.

 

"Alright, majority win-" Kuroo started but Kenma cut him off

 

"You three can go. I'll stay here." He said sternly. Kuroo turned to him with a faint pout, "Kenma~"

 

Bokuto almost laughed at the ridiculous look Kuroo put on. He was shoving his face in front of Kenma, blocking his view of the laptop screen. Eyes blinking frequently and pout over the top.

 

Kenma gave him an 'are you fucking kidding me' look before he shoved Kuroo away with a hand to his face and snapped his laptop close, "Fine."

 

Kuroo whooped in joy and placed an arm around Kenma's shoulders, "Yeeyyy~ don't worry babe, I'll buy you an apple pie."

 

Kenma looked so done with the world, "You better,  _babe_." He said lowly

 

Kuroo thought he was slick by coughing into his hand but Bokuto could see the reddening of his cheeks and ears. They walked towards the door and turned to them, waiting.

 

Bokuto looked at his phone where he noticed the text that Kuroo sent,

 

_"daich?!!? lets all meet up sumwhert and talk....well brinb some perople -kuroo(w_-)_

 

and then he saw that there was a reply from Daichi,

 

_"We'll meet you in the small Fukuro Shopping District in 30 minutes."_

 

"Alright then!" Bokuto said standing up and going over to Akaashi who gave him a faint smile. Bokuto threw an arm over his shoulders just like Kuroo did to Kenma and smiled down at him, "Let's go meet our friends."

 

This time, Akaashi didn't complain about his arm being heavy which was a plus.

 

They went downstairs and was greeted by Konoha giving them a sly look. Ever since Akaashi had taken residence in Bokuto's house, Konoha was also reassigned by the king and now he stayed in the headquarters with Bokuto's men. And he'd befriended almost everyone there.

 

Konoha whistled, "Oh, what is this? Are my eyes failing me or do I see a double date~?"

 

Akaashi gave him a look but his attention turned towards Komi who stepped forward handing Konoha a folder before turning to them, "I see it with my own two eyes too, Konoha."

 

"It's not a date." Akaashi said sternly before shooting a look at Bokuto after he snorted. Akaashi was cute when he was shy.

 

Kuroo laughed and tightened his arm around Kenma's shoulder., "It just looks like it."

 

They all went outside and Konoha and a few more security went to follow them and mounted their bikes. 

 

Kuroo and Bokuto managed to convince Bokuto's driver that they'd be fine having him drive. Although Akaashi gave the driver a look that said, 'He does not deserve your trust'. 

 

But Bokuto, being the direct boss got the power so he handed the keys to him and now there they were in the car buckling up with Kuroo and Kenma at the back. Akaashi prepared himself mentally for the trip as he sat down on the front seat.

 

Bokuto noticed his frown and turned to him with a small smile, "Don't worry Akaashi, I drive well."

 

"I know for a fact that you don't." Akaashi said plainly.

 

Bokuto laughed loudly, "Aww, lighten up 'Kaashi. I'll drive slow today."

 

Kuroo leaned over their seats and said, "The reason he drives so fast is that he went into drag racing for a while."

 

"Oh?" Akaashi raised an eyebrow at Bokuto who just gave a goofy smile and started the engine, "Yep. But I kind of trashed all the cars my parents lent me."

 

The truth was, Bokuto really missed playing volleyball after he graduated from highschool making him too down to do anything but Sarukui suggested he take to more hobbies. He also suggested drag racing and Bokuto went for it.

 

He managed to find an active track with active racers in a much more secluded part of the city.

 

It was an awesome experience though, with the speed of it all and the adrenaline that pumped in his veins as he challenged older racers and beat them.

 

It wa fun and all until he'd manage to wreck the first car. And then the next. And the next. And his mom said that he was getting out of hand and that it was enough so he stopped and got himself a bike because it had the same feel of adrenaline. Plus the wind on his face and hair adds to the dramatic flair.

 

"This idiot." Akaashi rubbed his temples. Bokuto then pulled off the lot and started driving slowly before sighing, "If we keep this up, we'll take an hour."

 

"Bokuto no-"

 

Bokuto switched gears and sped off making Akaashi clutch the panic bar. Bokuto laughed loudly before winking at him and then slowing down which calmed him a bit after he punched Bokuto's arm, face morphing into a huge cute pout.

 

Bokuto chuckled and poked his cheek which resulted to Akaashi saying, "Keep your eyes on the road. I don't want to die young."

 

"Who does?" He said meaningfully before doing as told.

 

Bokuto remembered that day when he took Akaashi away to the small town. He remembered the look on his face when he looked at the sea, the sunset and hell, even the old books.

 

Which reminded him.

 

Bokuto glanced at Akaashi’s lap where he was unconsciously fiddling with something around his wrist. It was the bracelet he gave him.

 

Akaashi seemed to have noticed his faint glance, “I still have it, if that’s what you’re wondering.”

 

“I- uh- what?” Bokuto stammered and stared at the road. Damn.

 

Akaashi chuckled, “You’re cute.”

 

“You’re beautiful.” Bokuto countered without thinking. Holy shit what did he just say.

 

“Oh?” Akaashi teased, “You think I’m beautiful.”

 

Bokuto decided to just fuck it, “I know you’re beautiful.”

 

Akaashi didn’t reply after a few moments before saying, “Thank you.”

 

Bokuto just gave him a huge smile and continued driving. What surprised him though was the sudden action Akaashi did.

 

He placed a hand over Bokuto’s unused one that was resting on the stick. Bokuto laced their fingers automatically and glanced at him saying, “Wha-“

 

Akaashi just tightened his hand on his almost like telling him to shut up.

 

Bokuto swore his heart was up to his throat now. He nodded and proceeded to drive while holding Akaashi’s hand. He let go once or twice to switch gears but somehow Akaashi’s hand found his again.

 

Bokuto tried his best to focus on driving and not focus on how soft and warm Akaashi’s hand was.

 

He wondered where the teases were knowing that Kuroo was just in the back with them.

 

Bokuto looked at the rearview mirror and saw Kenma calmly playing with his DS and Kuroo kept giving him advices and comments like, "Turn left. No wait, turn right. That person looks ominous. Punch the door down."

 

"Kuro, this is Pokémon."

 

They drove relatively quiet except for the times when Bokuto asked Akaashi questions. He kept glancing at the younger mans direction, noticing every frown he made every time Bokuto did a hasty lane switch, and when he'd run over a yellow/orange light.

 

They reached the shopping district in 15 minutes thanks to Bokuto's driving. They parked in one of the lanes and got off. Kuroo and Kenma walked in front of them while Bokuto and Akaashi fell to the back. 

 

They were thankful that there almost no people milling about outside meaning they didn't get bothered especially Akaashi who kept his head down. 

 

But they couldn't escape the stares that were sent their way. Some even made moves to approach them but immediately got stopped by security wandering about.

 

Kuroo had also asked Bokuto to text the guys to meet them in the café beside the Apple store since it had less customers.

 

Bokuto cleared his throat, "So, Kenma calls you Keiji?"

 

Akaashi looked at him with a smug look with an underlying meaning, "Well, it's only fair. We call him Kenma, after all."

 

"But he doesn't call Kuroo, 'Tetsurou' and he doesn't call me 'Koutarou'." Bokuto stated, crossing his arms with a pout. Where was he even going with this argument?

 

"And your point is-?" Akaashi drawled giving him a faint smile.

 

"My point is-" Bokuto took a deep breath before sighing, "I've got no point."

 

"I thought so." Akaashi said before he bumped his shoulder with Bokuto playfully, "Don't be jealous. Kenma definitely has Kuroo."

 

Bokuto's eyes widened, "Wha-what? I'm not jealous, pffft."

 

"I think I heard that line somewhere." Akaashi joked and gave him a small smile.

 

"Well, I guess." Bokuto pout deepened.

 

Akaashi downright chuckled, "You're quite a jealous person. We're not even dating yet and your possessiveness is showing."

 

Holy shittums. God what did I ever do to ever deserve this blessing.

 

Akaashi said they were not dating,  _YET_.

 

Bokuto swore he felt his pulse skyrocket. Akaashi gave him a look, "What?"

 

"N-nothing." Bokuto stuttered as he rubbed the back of his head. Akaashi looked like he was about to say something but Kuroo turned to them and shouted, "Hey!, pick up the pace lovebirds!"

 

Bokuto flipped him the only bird he needed. Akaashi sighed and they walked faster. They reached the café and saw that there were only a few people and that Oikawa and the others weren't there yet.

 

They went to a long table by the corner that would fit all of them. The wait staff and the other customers sent them awed glances especially towards Akaashi who fidgeted in his seat. 

 

Akaashi was just too beautiful that even other people would notice him for more than being the prince.

 

Bokuto cursed that fact because somehow, he wanted Akaashi to be his to admire alone.

 

It was stupid but it was the truth.

 

*****

 

It was unknown to all of them but Kuroo received giggles from girl customers whispering how they loved his hot messy look and how 'his stare makes me want to take off my clothes'

 

Bokuto too didn't notice the way several waitresses passed by their table just to size him up, his stern handsome face and his bulging muscles. 

 

Kenma got hit on by the cashier when he asked for the wifi password. The guy even had the nerve to brush Kenma's hair back to his ear which made Kuroo stand up and glower but he got held back by Bokuto's bruising grip on his arm telling him not to cause a scene. Kuroo just snorted mumbling something about giving the guy a piece of his mind.

 

Akaashi stood up after they all took their orders murmuring that he needed to go to the bathroom. Bokuto figured he was getting uncomfortable with all the staring and the whispers. 

 

If only he could approach them and tell them to fuck off but that would be downright unreasonable.

 

Bokuto realized that Akaashi leaving was an unfortunate timing because as Bokuto saw Akaashi's figure retreat to the corner, the café bell rang and in came the people they were waiting for.

 

"Kou-chan~, Tetsu-chan~," came the singsong voice of the trash king. Daichi smiled at them whilst Ushijima gave them a nod. Iwaizumi was there too, and there was no doubt he got dragged there by Oikawa based on the deeper than usual frown he had.

 

"Yo!" Bokuto and Kuroo said waving their hands lazily. Oikawa immediately bounded towards the counter where he ordered for him and the others and pointed to their table.

 

He made his way to them but he stopped when he saw Kenma.

 

Kuroo took it upon himself to introduce him, "Guys this is Kozume Kenma. Kenma these guys are idiots- I mean- this is Sawamura Daichi, Ushijima Wakatoshi, Iwaizumi Hajime and Oikawa Tooru." 

 

The other men waved at him and sat down with Iwaizumi across Oikawa, Ushijima and Daichi facing each other.

 

Kenma gave a mumbled hello and stared at the others. Oikawa made a dramatic gasp, "He's adorable Tetsu~" 

 

He immediately sat beside Kenma giving him a huge smile, "I really love your hair, I mean, you have those roots but you look beautiful with them. Honest. And I love the way you dress- that hoodie seems like it's about to swallow you up and it's really cute."

 

Kenma cleared his throat and nodded. Oikawa laughed and proceeded to stare at him before gasping and placing a hand under Kenma's chin to tilt his face up, "And your eyesss~ they're so gold and huge. And I mean that in a good way~" Oikawa gasped as if remembering something, "Tetsu, could this be-?"

 

"Oikawa. Hands off." Kuroo said suddenly from across the table. 

 

Oikawa chuckled holding his hands up in a placating gesture, "Alright, chill Tetsu. Jeez." 

 

Iwaizumi might have kicked his foot from under the table which resulted to him yelping in pain.

 

Oikawa's expression changed when he stared across Bokuto's shoulder, "Is that-?"

 

Bokuto looked behind him and saw Akaashi was already out of the bathroom and heading towards them. He waved at him, "'Kaashi, they're here."

 

Akaashi nodded and went over to them. Daichi and the other three stood up to greet him like the prince he was. He waved their bows off and said he'd settle for handshakes.

 

"I'm  Sawamura Daichi, your majesty." Daichi said, shaking hand. He smiled slightly before saying, "Just call me Akaashi. Nice to finally meet the 'Dadchi' these two have been mentioning." He said that with a tilt to Kuroo and Bokuto's direction.

 

They seemed to shrink because of that and Bokuto swore he saw a vein pop on Daichi's temple, "Whatever they have been saying are all ridiculously exaggerated, your-" Akaashi shot him a look, "-Akaashi."

 

Akaashi nodded at that and received another hand, "Ushijima Wakatoshi. It's great to finally meet you, Akaashi. I see that you have been one of the people to contribute strength to our country."

 

Akaashi shook his head slowly and drawled out, "I guess-." Ushijima nodded and let go. He was then followed by Iwaizumi who held a hand out and said, "Iwaizumi Hajime. I'm not really part of their pack though."

 

Akaashi smiled at him and said, "That's fine though. Any friend of Bokuto and Kuroo is a friend of mine." while Kuroo murmured in the background, "It's not a pack, Iwa. You make us sound like wolves or something." Bokuto murmured back, 

 

"But that would be awesome dude. Like Daichi can be Jacob Black, Oikawa can be like Hayley or something, Ushijima can be a breathing Jackson, you can be an alive version of Aiden and I can be Niklaus Mikaelson-" 

 

"Niklaus is a hybrid you idiot." 

 

"But that's what makes me cooler."

 

Akaashi's eyebrow twitched at their banter before he turned to the last one. It was Oikawa Tooru.

 

Oikawa extended his hand and gave him a huge pained smile making him frown but he took his hand nonetheless, "I'm Oikawa Tooru. It's great to finally meet you."

 

Akaashi nodded and eyed the man, noticing his uncanny beauty, "It's nice to meet you too."

 

Oikawa still held his hand after he shook it while he bowed his head, "I never thought I'd say this but-"

 

Oikawa then looked up at Akaashi with an intense expression, "I have finally found someone who's surpassed my looks! You are indeed a masterpiece in real life, Akaashi Keiji."

 

Bokuto's first thought was,  _You're damn right Oikawa_.

 

"Uhm,-" Akaashi gave Bokuto a pleading look before turning back to Oikawa, "Thanks I guess?"

 

Bokuto cleared his throat and tried not to look at Oikawa’s hand still holding Akaashi’s, "Alright, alright, that's enough. You've met Kenma and Akaashi now why don't we discuss more serious things."

 

Oikawa slowly dropped Akaashi's hand and gave him a brief pat to the shoulder and whispering, "You are a worthy person to take my place, your majesty."

 

"Uhh-" Akaashi looked at him with wide eyes and then at Bokuto who kept biting his lip to keep himself from bursting in laughter, then back to Oikawa making him laugh out loud.

 

Akaashi immediately went towards Bokuto and sat beside him whispering, “I was not prepared.”

 

Bokuto laughed at that, “Nobody’s ever prepared to meet him.”

 

"It’s nice to meet you, prince." Oikawa grinned raising a peace sign and then snapped his head to look at Kuroo and Bokuto who visibly shrank with a different expression and saying, "I need to give these guys a piece of my mind."

 

"I doubt that it'd be a huge piece then." Iwaizumi murmured, folding his arms over his chest.

 

"Why are you so mean, Iwa-chan?" Oikawa whined, "Is this some sort of special treatment?"

 

"Don't assume, 'Kawa. You'll get hurt." Kuroo warned, looking at Kenma who'd already brought out his PSP and playing quitely.

 

Iwaizumi frowned before saying, "Oikawa's a pretty special person to me." 

 

Bokuto swore that he saw Oikawa's eyes sparkle at that, "Iwa-cha~"

 

"A pretty special pain in the ass."

 

"Eh! Don't crush my hopes like that!" 

 

"Iwaizumi, Oikawa. That's enough." Daichi said sternly as six heads turned to look at him. He just sighed and waved a hand, "Why don't you guys tell us about all this?"

 

"Yeah." Oikawa pouted, "One minute you guys are the idiots I know and then the next you're on tv and being called earls."

 

Yes. Kuroo Tetsurou too was in line to be an earl after Junko, supposedly with an entire estate to rule but his predecessors chose the responsibility to help with the entire business that had to do with the Fukurodani underworld along with Bokuto's family. 

 

It was also a given that Bokuto had a significantly higher status and that there were a few more royals that came before the Kuroo lineage. 

 

Plus, Kuroo hated being called an earl even if people were only referring to him being Junko's heir. 

 

He told Bokuto some time before that, that he'd prefer being called a special kind of soldier that serves the country. If you asked Bokuto, he thought that it was purely for the sake of dramatics.

 

"Well for starters, I've always known my lineage." Kuroo started earning him a glance from Bokuto. 

 

Bokuto sighed at the touchy subject, "He knew I was an earl too but he never told me. My parents never actually adopted me from the real ones, the royals, who kinda just told them, 'Hey, here's our son. Pls keep him safe for a while.'"

 

Ushijima frowned before leaning forward,  "Why didn't you tell him, Kuroo? You knew all this time, you could have just told them."

 

Kuroo fidgeted on his seat and Bokuto spotted the way Kenma glanced at his best friend's direction with a worried look. Kuroo cleared his throat, "Because of reasons that forbade me to tell him."

 

"And I'm guessing this reason forbids you guys to tell us too, am I right?" Daichi said, leaning on his chair and crossing his arms.

 

"Yes." Akaashi spoke and all the heads turned to him, "You're right. These reasons are valid and I can assure you, it's for your safety."

 

Oikawa pouted before turning to look at Bokuto, then Kuroo, "But we're your friends."

 

"It's precisely because of that, that they can't tell you." Kenma spoke up, hands fiddling under the cloth of his hoodie.

 

Iwaizumi frowned, "But you guys are meeting up with us. So whoever you're hiding from, which I assume you are because you won't tell us, will probably see us and know that  _you_  know us."

 

Bokuto waved a hand dismissively, "That's nothing to worry about. We've got security around the place to make sure there aren't any suspicious looking people lurking around and there are hardly people in this shopping district. Which I'm thankful for, Daichi."

 

"But these people. The wait staff. These customers-" Daichi said but got cut off by Akaashi, "-are part of royal service. I remember those girls, they're maids in the mansion and those boys right there are part of surveillance maintenance." He tilted his chin towards the clusters of people.

 

"And as for the wait staff, this café is ours." Kuroo said, stretching his legs under the table. "Which is why I'm gonna fire the guy who hit on Kenma." He shot a glare at the cashier who seemed to have realized who he was and now wore a scared look.

 

The cashier was listening to another staff member who looked older as she scolded him.

 

"Kuro." Kenma turned to him with a reprimanding look and shaking his head earnestly. Kuroo only smiled at him, "It's fine, kitten."

 

Bokuto turned to Kuroo with a disbelieving look, "Woah, broo. This café is yours? Can we get free drinks?"

 

"FFS Bokuto." Kuroo smacked a palm to his forehead, "You're a royal and you still want free drinks?"

 

“He’s right.” Akaashi muttered.

 

Bokuto shrugged and answered to Akaashi who was shaking his head disbelievingly, "Everything is significantly better when it's free."

 

 

"Speaking of drinks, where are our drinks?" Oikawa said straining his head to look over Iwaizumi where a waiter stood with a tray full of drinks, looking scared as he stared at their table.

 

"Hey!" Oikawa waved with a huge smile on his face, "You! Yes you! Are those our drinks?"

 

The waiter nodded frantically, his head bobbing up and down really fast making everyone on the table fear his head somehow rolling off or something.

 

"Well, come on!" Oikawa said enthusiastically, beckoning for him to come closer. The waiter went over to them with a quivering smile on his face.

 

He set down their drinks with shaking hands. Bokuto slapped his arm after he set the drinks, "You don't have to be so nervous, dude." The waiter bowed at him before hurrying away.

 

"Maybe it's because there's so much testosterone in one table." Kuroo said, sipping on another latte.

 

"Pfft testosterone my ass." Bokuto said as he downed his entire cup of espresso and ran his eyes over Akaashi, Kenma then Oikawa "More like estrogen."

 

Oikawa stuck his tongue out and fiddled with his straw, "So guys, what are you actually up to?"

 

Bokuto looked at Akaashi again before saying, "Like I said, we can't really tell you guys but all we can tell you is that we have jobs that are quite risky."

 

"Woah, really?" Iwaizumi asked, "Royals don't just sit on their thrones and keep them warm? No offense." He said turning to Akaashi.

 

"None taken." Akaashi said waving a hand dismissively. 

 

They talked about lots of things after that. Bokuto rambled on about how awesome his house was but kept in mind to not actually mention the location.

 

At the end of they day, Kenma, Akaashi and Bokuto thought that Kuroo's proposal paid off because they left for the headquarters with surprising calmness. 

 

Bokuto looked at Akaashi, “Did you enjoy yourself?”

 

Akaashi looked up at him with his eyes bright under the rays of the sun, “Yes. Your friends were nice.” He replied as they made their way towards the house after they decided to walk the distance from the gate.

Bokuto smiled at him warmly, “I’m glad you like them. I want to meet your friends too, you know.” He said without actually thinking.

A sullen look suddenly crossed Akaashi’s face and he stared down at the concrete. He laughed bitterly, “I don’t have friends. Well, not until you guys.”

Holy shit. He screwed up.

Bokuto stopped in his tracks and said, ”I’m sorry, I’m an idiot.”

Akaashi turned to him slowly and a smile crept on his lips, “It’s not your fault that I’ve never had friends.”

Bokuto knew how hard it was being alone. He knew that despite living in a Jurassic Park full of idiots just like him.

Being alone was either a burden or a blessing. There was nothing in between.

Bokuto took a sharp breath and closed the distance between him and Akaashi, he laced his hand with his and said, “I’m here now. You don’t have to be alone.”

Akaashi smiled and shook his head, “I know you’re there but how long will you be there for me?” He sighed, “How long will you be with me if you risk your life just like what you did last night?”

Bokuto understood what he felt.

He would feel that too if Akaashi were the one who did it. But-

“It was my job.” Bokuto murmured and lowered his head.

All of the sudden, he felt Akaashi wrap his arms around him and bury his face in his chest.

Bokuto was surprised at first but he leaned closer and hugged him back, placing a hand on the back of his head and resting his face on top.

“It’s not your job.” Akaashi murmured to his shirt, “Your job is to be with me.”

What?

Bokuto felt overwhelmed and at the same time, he couldn't believe what he just said.

So he replied, “It is but it’s not-“

Akaashi shook his head violently, “No. I know your job. But that doesn’t mean you should do it. You have men-“

“Akaashi-“ Bokuto started as he leaned back to see his face.

He was looking down at the ground and then he met Bokuto’s eyes, “You’re an idiot but you changed me even in that short amount of time.”

Bokuto didn’t know what to say. His brain was short-circuiting, more so than usual.

Akaashi sniffled and looked down again, “Just let me be selfish. Let me be selfish just this once.”


	11. In which Bokuto goes on a trip

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't know man. I don't know. :D

CHAPTER ELEVEN

 

"My dad's fine, he just needs to rest a bit." Akaashi mumbled, sipping on his tea in the kitchen. He and Kuroo were the first ones to wake up that day and the first ones to occupy the kitchen while Bokuto took a shower and Kenma dragged himself off his bed.

 

"Well, that's great." Kuroo said as he munched on his bacon absentmindedly. He turned yet again to Akaashi, leaning over the counter, "So what's the deal with you and my bro?"

 

Akaashi sputtered on his tea, putting the cup down and wiping his lips with a tissue that Kuroo offered him. "Nothing. We're, close friends."

 

"Just close friends?" Kuroo drawled out in a teasing manner, a smug smile on his face.

 

Akaashi sighed and ran a hand through his face, "I don't know. It's too early. What about you and Kenma?"

 

Kuroo's eyes widened and his reaction was much more intense, "What-no! He's my breast- best friend. Nothing more."

 

Akaashi snorted. "I know you feel something for him Kuroo, something more than a best friend should feel." He stated, downing the last of his black tea.

 

Kuroo sighed and tugged on the fringe of his hair that hung on his face, "Maybe I do. But I doubt Kenma would want me to be more than his best friend."

 

"Well, maybe because you're so negative." Akaashi said as a matter of factly.

 

"But he just said he's already in love with someone, so there's no hope for me." Kuroo said placing his forehead on the cold countertop.

 

Akaashi snorted yet again, "Have you ever stopped to think that maybe you were the one he was referring to?"

 

Kuroo lifted his head and peeked at him over his hair, "Well, I've never considered it."

 

"No wonder you're Bokuto's best friend. You're both equally dense."

 

"Excuse me, princeling, but I'm not dense." Kuroo huffed crossing his arms over his chest.

 

Akaashi nodded and frowned deeply, "People get dense and naive when they're inlove."

 

"Hey, hey, hey! Akaashi! Kuroo!" Bokuto came bounding into the kitchen all dressed in his usual black clothes and boots, his hair up in its usual gravity defying spikes.

 

Bokuto sat beside Akaashi and stole a piece of buttered bread from his plate before rolling it and stuffing it inside his mouth then chewing, "Werf kenfa?"

 

"He's still upstairs, I guess." Kuroo said nonchalantly. 

 

A couple of minutes later, Kenma came into the kitchen with his hair tied back in a ponytail with bangs over his eyes wearing jeans and a huge dark red hoodie. Akaashi squinted his eyes at the hoodie, sizing it up and agreeing to himself that it was Kuroo's.

 

He sat beside Kuroo wordlessly and the taller man pushed a plate of breakfast to him. He mumbled a quiet, 'thank you' before eating. 

 

"You should tie your hair back like that more, it's cute." Akaashi commented, giving Kuroo a teasing look which he replied to with intentional wide eyes and mouthing, 'Stop that'

 

Bokuto joined in, "Yep it is. Don't you think it's cute, Kuroo?" 

 

Kuroo choked on his spit and mumbled, "Well, yeah."

 

Kenma ran a hand through his face, "You guys are idiots." He turned to Keiji with a disappointed look, "These guys are rubbing off on you Keiji."

 

Akaashi was about to answer when suddenly, the elevator made an enthusiastic ding! Making the four of them turn to the threshold and suddenly Washio came running into the kitchen looking ditressed.

 

Bokuto stood up immediately, "What's the matter."

 

"Something's happened to Komi. He's in the infirmary." Washio panted out

 

"But I don't remember you giving any orders to push our men into the field, bro." Kuroo said standing up running out of the kitchen since he was a medic too.

 

Akaashi and Kenma followed Bokuto as he went out, following Washio.

 

"I left security to the Fukurodani mansion guards." Bokuto murmured, frowning. He'd asked Akaashi to contact their head of security and give them all the city rounds for today.

 

Akaashi spoke up as they entered the elevator, "Komi was out of work today. I saw his log in the computer."

 

Nobody replied to that because the elevator already opened and they all went outside and walked towards the infirmary, Kuroo darting in front of them.

 

When they all entered the room, they saw Kuroo bending over the bed where Komi lay without a shirt and already bandaged by the other medics.

 

"What happened?" Bokuto asked stepping forward. Kuroo turned to them, "He didn't have any major injuries. Just some bruises and cuts, signs of retaliation. Also, something might have got bashed into his head." Kuroo pointed at the fresh bandage where blood started to seep, "That's why he's unconscious."

 

Komi's breathing was steady and his pulse rate was normal. They all looked at him until Kuroo spoke up again, "And then there's this thing."

 

He turned over Komi's arm that had been resting on his stomach before. Three pairs of eyes widened at what they saw. 

 

On the inside of his arm, there was a wound that looked like it was sketched with a knife. It was a yin-yang symbol. It was the symbol of the group they suspected.

 

"Holy shit." Bokuto whispered before looking at Washio, "Where did you find him?" 

 

"By the east fence. I was going through some rounds and I saw him there. Unfortunately I didn't have a chance to see who did it." Washio explained, rubbing the back of his head.

 

"This is some sort of message. To us." Akaashi supplied giving Bokuto a short glance. Kenma suddenly took a sharp breath before he walked out of the room. Kuroo followed him after saying to the other medics, "Make sure he's stable and do an MRI scan to check for internal bleeding."

 

Bokuto and Akaashi bolted after him and after Kenma. Kenma furiously typed in the code to the control room and went inside followed by the three of them.

 

"East wall camera footage." Kenma said simply to the men in the control room. One of the man with silvery hair turned to him with an innocent look, "The cameras have been down since this morning."

 

Kenma breathed in slowly like he was trying to control himself, "And nobody bothered to fix them?" He said dangerously low

 

"Kenma-" Kuroo stepped forward and placed his hand on his shoulder. Kenma shook his head, voice still having an underlying meaning, "Why were the cameras down?"

 

"We don't know, sir." The man said. "You don't know?" Kenma's voice quivered. 

 

A short guy with brown hair who sat beside the tall silver-haired one suddenly spoke up, "I'm sorry, sir. This Haiba Lev, he's new here and he didn't know what to do."

 

Kenma was now breathing really fast and Kuroo turned him to face the other side where nobody could see them. The taller man whispered something to Kenma making him nod and even his breath. 

 

Akaashi and Bokuto looked at each other shrugging at the same time. Kenma turned back looking calmer now, "Tora, send someone to check the wirings."

 

A mohawk-haired guy nodded and picked up a telephone. Kenma then sat on his cubicle running a hand through his long hair, "I can't believe this."

 

"It's fine. We can find something." Kuroo said softly. Bokuto stepped up and sat on an empty chair, "Now we have to figure out what in the living fuck that meant."

 

Akaashi folded his arms over his chest, "Like I said, it was a message and they used Komi because he was one of your men."

 

The guy, Tora or something suddenly spoke up, "The wirings are fine, sir."

 

"So how do you think they managed to tinker through the surveillance cameras?" Kuroo asked Kenma.

 

Kenma sighed, "They might have hacked into our server but they didn't get that far. They only managed to take the cameras and not anything else and the east wall one's were the most exposed in the system."

 

"Can you find out what the hacker's location is?" Kuroo asked.

 

"I can but it will probably take long since they’ve been really careful with their codes.” Kenma said as he hacked away at his computer.

 

Kuroo nodded, "At least you can actually do it."

 

"Damn. What do they want?" Bokuto snapped, "We talked about this being a personal vendetta against the king! And now we know that the group we found is actually the real suspect."

 

"This actually confirms your suspicion." Kuroo said, sitting on top of Kenma's desk, "The group we've discussed can very well be the group behind the attack."

 

Akaashi frowned in deep thought, biting his lip. Bokuto wanted to speak up but Kuroo beat him to it, "Akaashi? What's wrong?"

 

Akaashi snapped his head up and looked at Kuroo, blinking. He sighed and said, "Well if this indeed is the group then they surely want us to know it's them. By putting on those symbols on Komi's arm, they risked being known as the group that led the attack last September 29, 1995."

 

At first thought, everything seemed confusing but when you really take more than a second to go through it, it becomes simpler. The only question is that, why are they doing this?

 

If they had a vendetta against the king, they sure as hell would go directly to him and not through the forces of his second in command where victory would be uncertain.

 

"They wanted to be known, that's for sure." Kenma murmured, tapping on his keyboard.

 

"Why are they doing this? They already had revenge for the raid Fukurodani. What more do they need? They come out of hiding after 10 years just to attack?" Akaashi huffed out.

 

"This is really confusing, if you ask me." Kuroo said simply.

 

There was that silence again. 

 

"Now we know that this group is the prime suspect, we can work on all our investigations based on past reports." Akaashi said

 

Bokuto frowned before voicing out, "Why don't we check all their warehouses? The reports had lists of their places. Maybe they set up base again."

 

"That's probably the most practical thing we could do." Akaashi said. The fact that they might know who the culprits are makes everything easier but at the same time harder.

 

Easy because they have leads and harder because the leads will bring commotion and dangerous exploits. 

 

"We can check all the reports and see where their base warehouses are located. Maybe we can find more clues there." Akaashi supplied, turning to Bokuto.

 

"Kuroo and I will go. I don't want any of our men out in the field, I want them to stay here and guard the headquarters." Bokuto said walking towards the door.

 

"That's right." Kuroo said, "It will be easier with less people to scout bases and we'll take what we can find easily when we're not giving out orders."

 

"Absolutely not." Akaashi blurted out. Three heads turned to him as he crossed his arms over his chest and glared daggers at Bokuto, "You're not going."

 

"Keiji." Kenma placed a hand on his arm making him turn. He looked at Kenma who shook his head, "We can't leave such an important recon to other men."

 

But Bokuto-

 

"Bokuto might get hurt there!" Akaashi gestured at Bokuto whose eyes widened comically.

 

Kenma sighed and ran a hand through his face, "And Kuro too. But you should get used to this already."

 

Get used to it?

 

Akaashi looked down, not really knowing what to say at that point. He knew he was being stupid and unreasonable. Heck, he wasn't even like this before.

 

Bokuto could have been just another one of his men. Another one of the king's disposable pawns.

 

But he wasn't. At least, not to him.

 

"Hey-" He heard someone say softly. He felt a hand on his arm making him look up at Bokuto who was smiling faintly, "Come with me for a sec."

 

He nodded slightly and then he noticed how Bokuto’s hand crept down his arm towards his hand, lacing them together. He let Bokuto drag him out of the control room while he also heard a wolf-whistle from behind.

 

Damned Kuroo.

 

Bokuto stopped walking when they reached a secluded hallway. He let go of Akaashi’s hand and turned to him with a smile, “I’ll be fine.”

 

Yeah right.

 

Akaashi crossed his arms over his chest, “You won’t”

 

“Are you trying to put a curse on me?” Bokuto placed a hand over his heart mockingly.

 

“I’d gladly put a curse on you if it means you won’t go.” Akaashi whispered and averted his eyes.

 

Bokuto sputtered in front of him, “But it’s my job-“

 

“We’ve talked about this, Bokuto.” Akaashi didn’t really want him to go. Even if it were just some simple recon.

 

He had a feeling that something bad was going to happen if he did.

 

 Bokuto suddenly shook his head and took his hand in his, “I promise, I’ll be fine.”

 

“But-“ Akaashi started.

 

Bokuto’s hand tightened on his, “You know this won’t be the only time I’ll need to go to the field.”

 

“I’m the prince.” Akaashi said stubbornly. He’d never once tried to use his status to his advantage before but here he was, making it his last resort,  

 

“I know.” Bokuto smiled widely at that and stroked his hand, “That’s why you have to back me up on this. I’m gonna be fine.”

 

Bokuto was a difficult person to argue with so he just sighed, “Alright.”

 

“Hell yeah! Thank you!” And before he knew it, he was wrapped by Bokuto and his buff arms. Akaashi just sighed and hugged him back, “Alright, let’s go.”

 

They broke apart and went inside the control room where Kenma sat in front of his computer with Kuroo who leaned on the table.

 

When the said man saw them, he turned and wiggled his eyebrows teasingly.

 

Akaashi just shook his head, “Go.” He said and went over to Kenma.

 

Kuroo straightened up and approached Bokuto with a thumbs up. The two then proceeded to preparing for the short recon, getting dressed in gear and vests, holstering their handguns and loading their rifles. 

 

Akaashi scanned the report papers, sitting beside Kenma in his huge cubicle and found that there was only a single warehouse that has not been turned to a shopping mall.

 

"Kenma, you think you can bring up a satellite feed of this warehouse." Akaashi said pointing at the address, 30 R.O St., Nocorp Warehouse. 

 

Kenma nodded and started typing on his computer, "Got it."

 

The feed was a bit staticky and unclear but they could see the warehouse. It was just a huge block of unpainted concrete with more or less 2 storeys.

 

Kuroo and Bokuto approached Kenma's cubicle all dressed in gear, rifles slung over their shoulders. Bokuto frowned as he adjusted his knuckle gloves, "Do we really have to be so, armed?"

 

Kuroo shrugged, "Well, yeah. It's a precaution. Even if we're only on recon, we need to be ready and stuff. We can't just go strolling into enemy grounds wearing Levi's pants and sneakers."

 

"Bro."

 

"Konoha and Washio will go with you." Akaashi said and he stopped the oncoming protests with a hand, "They will not enter the warehouse with you but they'll guard the perimeter and serve as your escape drivers."

 

Bokuto nodded as Kenma handed them two microphone headsets, "We'll communicate with you using these. They also serve as trackers that use signals that we can pick up with our sats so whatever the hell you do, don't lose them."

 

Bokuto and Kuroo took the headsets and placed them in their ears. Akaashi turned to them, "Kenma and I will help you navigate through the huge ass warehouse since he has a computerized map of the place and we will receive pings by the time you guys step foot on the territory. Your vests have built in cameras so we can see what you see."

 

Bokuto gave him two thumbs up and smiled at him goofily, "This is like a real life version of crossfire or something."

 

Akaashi rolled his eyes and turned to the computer he shared with Kenma, "Which means if there are people in there, you die. So take care of your asses."

 

Bokuto laughed and went over to Akaashi and gave him a tight hug, "I'll be back, 'Kaashi. You take care of our house while I, your husband's away."

 

Akaashi snorted before punching his chest lightly, "You're ridiculous. Anyway, don't do anything stupid alright? And come back in one piece."

 

"Pfft..stupid is my middle name." Bokuto hooted as he held Akaashi's hand in a not so discreet way making the man blush.

 

Kuroo laughed at that and turned to Kenma. He dumped his arms around his shoulders, Kenma giving him a noogie and saying, "I'll be back later, kitten."

 

The two of them went outside after saying goodbye and Akaashi sighed, as he could still hear Bokuto's excited hooting outside the door.

 

\--------------------------------

 

"Kenma? Can you hear me?" Kuroo asked as he pressed a hand to the button of his headset, activating it.

 

_"I can hear you."_ Kenma's voice came through to both of their headsets. They were in the back seat while Washio drove and Konoha sat on the front seat. They were passing by a secluded part of the city where there were several boarded up buildings only several active ones here and there. People were also scarce in those parts. 

 

Bokuto adjusted the straps of his pants and looked up, "Hey, Kuroo. You think something's gonna happen there?"

 

Kuroo shrugged before looking at the road, "I don't know. For all we know they've set up an entire base there and it's just the four of us."

 

Bokuto nodded and thought back to his conversation with Akaashi. He was so keen on not letting him go and it made his heart swell with pride.

 

Akaashi cared enough for him to actually beg him to stay.

 

It made him feel beyond happy, it was ridiculous.

 

Bokuto grimaced before giving a faint smile, "Or we could be walking into an empty block of concrete."

 

Kuroo chuckled and nodded, "That would be better."

 

Washio parked a couple of blocks away from the warehouse before turning to them, "We're here."

 

Bokuto nodded before pressing the activating button and speaking to his headset, "Do you have our pings?"

 

_"We do."_  It was Akaashi who spoke,  _"And there seems to be no other signals except yours so you're good to go."_

_“_ Copy that wifey.” Bokuto couldn’t help himself.

 

He just heard a loud intake of breath before he and Kuroo stepped out of the car no doubt looking really suspicious with their gear and rifles but there were no people to see them.

 

_"Kuro, Bokuto._ " Kenma spoke _, "The building only has two entrances from the first floor. There's one in the front and one on the side."_

 

Bokuto stared at the rusted steel front door of the building and asked to his headset, "So which one do we use?"

 

_"Use the left side door_." Kenma said. Kuroo nodded to Bokuto before they darted over to the smaller steel door, feet making loud crunches on the pebbles scattered around the building.

 

They reached the door and Bokuto kicked it, the door creaking loudly and opening.

 

He and Bokuto stepped inside, rifles on the ready. The inside of the building was dark with sunlight streaming in small clumps. 

 

They turned on their rifle's rove lights, pointing them towards the hallway.

 

The door slammed shut behind them making Kuroo curse in surprise.

 

Bokuto turned back to where they entered and saw that it lead to a hallway before opening up to the rest of the building.

 

The building had stained, cracked concrete flooring and had several muddy puddles that no doubt came from rainwater that managed to enter the warehouse. The walls were painted white and peeling off.

 

"This place smells like shit." Bokuto commented as he swiped a gloved hand over his nose.

 

Akaashi sighed, " _Focus on what you're doing, Bokuto._ "

 

"Roger that, wifey."

 

_"Damn it, Bokuto."_ Akaashi's sigh was so filled with emotion it almost hurt _._

 

The two walked down the hallway and saw that the rest of the building's main hall looked pretty much empty except for crates that Bokuto approached. He lifted the lid of one crate and saw that it was full of guns.

 

"Hey, these crates are full of guns." Bokuto confirmed as he lifted the lid of another crate and saw the same thing.

 

"Maybe they're using the place as some sort of storage." Kuroo said as he approached Bokuto, lowering his rifle.

 

_"That'd be ridiculous."_ Kenma said,  _"If they were using the place as storage, they'd have used better security."_

 

"So what's up with these?" Bokuto asked. Kuroo shrugged, "I don't know bro. Let's go."

 

Bokuto followed Kuroo who entered a room with no door, pointing his rifle, "This place looked like some sort of makeshift office."

 

Bokuto followed after him and saw that there was a wooden desk covered in dust. A cabinet and an old water dispenser.

 

_"Bokuto, check the drawers. Kuro, open the cabinet."_  Kenma told them.

 

They complied, lowering their rifles and covering their noses as they opened up their respective compartments.

 

Bokuto frowned when he saw that the biggest drawer was empty except for a box of tobacco sticks. The right side drawers were empty too except for the cobwebs that were there. 

 

The left side drawer though held a single piece of paper. It was a report compilation, "Holy shit." He whispered as he read through the report. "Akaashi, Kenma, are you seeing this?"

 

Kuroo who heard what he said immediately went towards him, "What is that bro?"

 

_"Is that-?"_  Akaashi's voice came through.

 

FUKURODANI CASE REPORT 

 

Group name: N/A

 

_-January 15, 1992_

 

_Cargo raid conducted by Fukurodani lead by Kuroo Junko._

_Retrieved: 50 kgs. of heroine, 10 kgs. MDMA. 50 crates of illegal firearms._

_40 enemy casualties. None from Fukurodani._

_Group put out of comission._

 

_-September 29, 1995_

 

_Headquarter attack by enemy group_

_24 Fukurodani casualties. 10 enemy casualties._

 

Case status: ongoing 

Group status: active

 

_-October 12, 2005_

 

_'No case clues found. Enemy group out of commission. Cause unknown'_

 

_Case status: closed_

_Group status: inactive_

 

"Aren't those all the reports we have that involve this group?" Kuroo asked, eyes widening.

 

Bokuto scanned the papers and saw that they were exactly like the ones he in the documents, stamp and all. Although the papers seemed older and crisper.

 

"Why would these reports be here?" Bokuto asked incredulously.

 

" _Those reports are supposed to be classified_." Kenma mumbled, " _Why are they there?"_

 

There could absolutely be no reason for those papers to be there. And it's not like they flew by themselves from the headquarters towards the warehouse.

 

_"Take those papers with you, Bokuto."_ Akaashi commanded, _"And resume your search. We'll discuss those things later."_

 

Bokuto nodded even though he knew Akaashi couldn't see him. He rolled the papers gingerly and stuffed them inside the huge back pockets of his pants.

 

He turned to Kuroo who still had a deep frown, "Let's go."

 

They scanned more of the rooms with Kenma and Akaashi directing them and found that they were empty.

 

" _Try and head up to the second floor._ " Kenma said as they checked the last room. Kuroo and Bokuto followed their directions and found concrete stairs by the left corner of the room.

 

They climbed the steps silently; spotting rats here and there that may or may not have startled them into producing unmanly shrieks. 

 

As they reached the top landing they saw that the steel double doors had rusted chains wrapped around their steel handles and a huge padlock.

 

"It's locked from the outside." Kuroo said to his headset, "What do we do?"

 

Bokuto lifted his rifle and positioned to shoot, "Should we shoot it down?"

 

" _No_." Akaashi hissed, " _That will make too much noise. Try to pick the lock or something."_

 

_"_ Alright, alright chill." Bokuto breathed, lowering his rifle.

 

_"Kuro, you're good at picking locks."_ Kenma's voice came through, " _Why don't you do it."_

 

"It would be my pleasure." Kuroo said, handing Bokuto his rifle. His hands immediately went to his back pocket, retrieving two small objects that looked like pins.

 

He crouched in front of the lock and whistled lowly, "This shit's older than my grandma."

 

Bokuto snorted, "Bro, shut up." Kuroo smiled smugly before taking hold of the lock and doing whatever the hell he needed to do, twisting his wrist repeatedly.

 

A moment later, a rickety click resounded and Kuroo gave Bokuto a huge smile which he returned with an effort filled thumbs up. 

 

"Ya see that, Kenma?" Kuroo said as he unraveled the rusty chains. 

 

Kenma sighed and said sarcastically, _"How wonderful."_  

 

"Two words filled with absolute rudeness." Kuroo said as he and Bokuto pushed the doors open, producing a loud and creepy creak.

 

Dust immediately assaulted their noses making them cough and sputter. Bokuto groaned when the dust finally settled, "That was nasty."

 

"You tell me." Kuroo said, extending an arm for his rifle which Bokuto promptly gave back. "Now let's see what we have here."

 

They pointed their lights at the second floor that seemed to be just a single room in general.

 

Kuroo sighed as he scanned the huge place, "Crates. Great."

 

Bokuto went over to one of them and opened it. He saw that it was filled yet again with guns. 

 

"Crate. Guns. Crate. Guns." Bokuto murmured as he slung his rifle over his shoulder and kept opening and closing the crates. Kuroo wandered across the room, looking at the single table shoved towards one wall. 

 

Bokuto sighed yet again, "Crate. Guns. Cra- Holy shit!" He turned around, "Kuroo!"

 

_"Bokuto!"_ Akaashi screamed his voice booming in the headsets. Kuroo ran over to him as Bokuto staggered back after opening the crate again.

 

"Shit! It's a bomb!" Kuroo approached the crate where a monitor bomb ticked away, it's green numbers descending,

 

_00:30_

 

_00:29_

 

_"Bokuto! Kuroo! Get out of there!"_ Akaashi screamed to the headset. He sounded frantic, reflecting what Bokuto also felt.

 

Kenma's voice came through, _"Keiji, calm down they won't make it even if they run. Kuro, you know what to do."_

 

Kuroo nodded firmly and immediately crouched towards the crate with shaking hands extended to take the bomb.

 

Bokuto looked at him with wide eyes, "Kuroo! What the fuck are you doing?! Let's get out of here!"

 

_"_ Calm down, Bokuto!" Kuroo screamed as he lifted the bomb and turned it over, hacking the latch on the back and opening a panel, revealing several colored wires.

 

_00:23_

 

_"Kuroo, how many wires are there exactly?"_ Kenma said in a calm but also distressed voice.

 

"Fou-five!" Kuroo stammered as he handled the bomb shakily. He brought out a swiss knife from his back pocket.

 

_"I see the wires,"_ Kenma said automatically _, "Which one is connected to the battery pack?"_

 

Kuroo's shaking hands flew over the back panel, skimming through the wires, "Two! The yellow and red wires!"

 

_"Shit."_ Kenma cursed _._

 

_"Kenma, tell him what to do."_ Akaashi said slowly as though he was trying to control himself from screaming _, "They're gonna get killed there."_

 

_"Calm down."_

_“Bokuto, you promised-“_ Akaashi was whimpering from their headset now.

Fuck, _“Akaashi.”_ Bokuto replied slowly. Holy shit if he were to die today-

No

 

Shit.

 

He promised.

 

_00:15_

 

"Kuroo, just drop the bomb!" Bokuto said as he ran towards Kuroo, yanking his shoulder.

 

Kuroo growled at him, shrugging his hands off his shoulder violently, "No, we still won't make it. Kenma which one do I cut?!"

 

_"Wait, Kuro."_

 

_00:10_

 

_"_ Kuroo! Just leave it! Let's go!" Bokuto was hysterical now _._

 

He wanted to run but he couldn't leave Kuroo behind and he knew for himself that even if they ran from the start, they still would not have made it.

 

Although he'd never thought this would be the way he and his bro died.

 

00:06

 

00:05

 

"No! We can deactivate this." Kuroo said as sweat dripped from his forehead, knife pointing at the two wires back and forth. The numbers were a constant reminder of their urgency.

 

Kenma's breathing was heavy from their headsets while Akaashi kept screaming for him to do something. 

 

"Kenma?!" Bokuto screamed to his microphone, poised to run.

 

00:03

 

"Kenma!" Kuroo screamed desperately, his shaking hands tightening on the two wires as he cradled the bomb in his hands.

 

"Red! Cut the red wire!"

 

And then in one swift motion, Kuroo cut the red wire.

 

00:00

 


	14. NOT AN UPDATE BUT A HUGE APOLOGY BUT I WILL UPDATE IN A FEW DAYS

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I will be back

So i literally kind of dropped out of ao3 for a while and by a while i mean for a couple of years i guess?? I mean i keep checking my account and the comments on this story and ifeel so sad and so horrible and i wanted to update but i was just really really busy in senior year and had so much to do. I know i was an irresponsible writer and i still am and ive disappointed my readers but i will make it tup to youu. I will promise to try and update regularly from now on as long as it doesnt conflict with my stuff for school.

To everyone who read and loved my story I'm sorrrryyy for this really long hiatus but I will be back in a few days.

I love y'all!

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE LOVEEE LIKE SOOOOO SOOOOO MUCHHHHHHH


	15. In which Bokuto hates tunnels

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Helloooo I aam back! I am so awful. But i hope you like this new update. Love lots!

CHAPTER TWELVE

"Holy-" Kuroo breathed as he slumped forward and dropped the deactivated bomb. Bokuto fell to his knees panting, "Bro."

"Kenma! What the hell was that about?" Akaashi questioned a bit too loudly.

Kenma replied, "I'm sorry."

Bokuto went over to Kuroo and placed a hand on his shoulder, "Bro, we're alive."

"I can't believe we were that close to becoming fireworks." Kuroo joked, a wavering smile on his face. 

Bokuto cracked up as he rested his head on Kuroo's shoulder before lifting his head up, "Damn. Thanks for that Kenma."

"Don't thank me. I chose blindly." Kenma whispered, his voice drawling out. 

Bokuto's eyes widened, "So Kuroo could easily have cut the red wire and it still would have exploded?"

"Well, yeah." Kenma replied, "It was a lucky guess. I couldn't see the wirings clearly and I couldn't actually look for the connections."

"Damn." Akaashi said and there was a sound of a chair creaking. 

"So you went for the red one? Like what dad taught us." Kuroo asked standing up and picking his rifle.

"Wait, taught you?" Bokuto asked as he followed Kuroo out of the room. 

Kuroo nodded, "Yeah. We're taught how to deactivate bombs and one reminder was that if you can't decide, you can only go for red. Especially for monitor bombs."

"Woah, why wasn't I taught that?" Bokuto exclaimed as they clambered down the steps.

Kuroo laughed, "You're not cool enough for that." 

"Bro. Wtf."

"I can't believe how upbeat you two are." Akaashi commented, "You just came out a sort of life and death situation."

"Woah, if you put it that way it sounds way cooler than 'We found a bomb. Kuroo cut the red wire. No boomboom.' and stuff." Bokuto said as he fiddled with his rifle's strap, readjusting it.

In reality, he was scared. His heart felt like it was still about to jump out of his ribcage. He couldn't get the feeling of almost dying out of his head.

"Yeah. But that leaves us with a single revelation." Kenma told them, "Someone knew you'd go there and planted a bomb in time with your recon."

"Holy shit." Kuroo said slowly, "You're right."

"They tried to kill us, bro." Bokuto stated, turning to Kuroo. 

Kuroo frowned, "I'm almost certain that it was the group who shot the king."

"Well, yeah. We're in one of their warehouses after all." Bokuto walked towards the hallway, following Kuroo who walked before him.

He pointed his rifle light here and there to maybe spot another clue. He stopped briefly as he pointed at the ground of his right side, 

"Bro! Come on, we have to go!" Kuroo called out from in front of him. Bokuto held a hand up, "Wait, bro. Come see this."

Kuroo frowned and went over to him as he pointed his rifle to the direction of a hallway, "Did we get to that hallway, Kenma?" Kuroo asked.

"Wait." Kenma said as he tapped onto his keyboard, "No. It doesn't lead to any rooms."

Kuroo nodded and turned to Bokuto, "There's nothing there bro."

Bokuto shook his head, "We didn't enter that hallway but look.." He pointed his rifle to the floor that had muddy footsteps, "Someone was here." He went closer to the trail and crouched, "The mud's still wet."

"Check it out." Akaashi said. Bokuto nodded to Kuroo who followed him down the hallway. The footsteps grew fainter but still distinguishable.

They walked a couple more steps before they reached a dead end. Kuroo sighed and dropped his rifle, "Well that was anticlimactic." 

"Like I said, it didn't have any rooms." Kenma said as another round of tapping sounded.

"No. The person must've done something here." Bokuto stated as he turned around. He felt a shift under the pad of his boot, making him look down, "There's a trap door!" 

He stepped back and flashed his light on the concrete that almost blended into the flooring save for the fact that it was raised a couple centimeters up and had a small metal latch sticking out.

"What should we do, Kenma, Akaashi?" Kuroo asked, placing a hand on his hip.

"You two should probably head back." Kenma mumbled, "You guys can check it out some other time or we can send out men to do it but right now it's getting pretty unsafe especially if you're planning on going down that door."

"But-." Bokuto whined, "We don't know if we'll get another chance to get back here. Maybe the next time, they'll succeed on killing us or our men."

"That's why you should head back. We're not prepared." Akaashi said irritatedly, "Whatever's down there may or may not end up hurting the both of you."

"And need we remind you that this is not a raid." Kenma spoke up.

"It's just recon, I know. But going down there is part of the job, right?" Bokuto asked. 

Kuroo who'd been silent all this time just sighed and ran a hand over his face, "Let's just go down for a bit and scan the place as quick as possible then come back out."

Bokuto grinned at him, giving him a thumbs up, "Let's go."

"Idiots." Akaashi and Kenma breathed simultaneously.

Bokuto smiled at that, remembering something.

'You're my idiot after all.'

"Bokuto's the idiot." Kuroo said, shrugging, "I'm just giving in to his whims."

"And that makes you an idiot too." Kenma commented. 

Kuroo just scoffed, "It means I'm an awesome friend."

"You'd be an awesome friend if you helped me move this." Bokuto called out as he wrapped his hand around the metal latch. Kuroo immediately went over to him, the both of them crouching and heaving the door up.

"This shit's heavy." Bokuto commented as they moved the concrete slab to one side. 

"You tell me." Kuroo said as he wiped his gloved hands over his pants as though it could get rid of the mud. He turned to Bokuto and gestured at him with a hand, "Your idea, you be the guinea pig."

"Dude, seriously." Bokuto rolled his eyes as he pointed his light down the hole. It had several metal ledges attached to one side and they extended into the darkness.

Bokuto slung his rifle over his shoulder and turned his back before settling his foot on one ledge and making sure it could hold his weight before climbing down the ledges.

Kuroo shook his head before following his example.

The trip down was pretty long which resulted to Bokuto saying, "Bro, if this leads to a sewer I'm gonna have to kill myself."

"Don't worry, bro. I'll beat you to it." 

A couple more ledges and Bokuto spotted a flicker of light below him, "Bro, I see the light at the end of the tunnel."

"Fuck you bro. My arms are really tired." Kuroo groaned, "You might end up eating my ass. Literally."

"Will you both please shut up." Akaashi said loudly to their headsets making them both wince.

"My eardrum exploded." Kuroo commented, "Mine too." Bokuto answered, which was followed by a loud sigh of exasperation from the other line.

He didn't want to admit it but he loved riling Akaashi up in person. He liked the way his nose scrunched and his eyes got lidded. He liked the way his lips pouted slightly and his eyebrows furrowed.

Bokuto, Focus. Akaashi's voice came to his memory. He shook his head and did what the voice in his head said.

Bokuto looked down and saw that the light was really close now and there was a single ledge before a huge drop to what looked like a concrete floor. Bokuto cursed himself as he removed his feet from the ledge and let go.

He landed on his feet but he immediately went down to his bum, "Fuck, that was ugly."

He staggered up and went to the side to avoid getting hit by Kuroo who dropped to the floor gracefully. Bokuto gawked, "Bro, how did you do that?"

Kuroo turned to him with a smug smile, "Cats always land on their feet."

"Dude that's cool."

"I know right."

"Enough." Kenma said sternly from their headsets, "Get on with it."

Bokuto and Kuroo went into serious mode as they turned off their lights and scanned the place. The other side was just a wall while the other side held another hallway. There were LED lightbulbs on the ceiling of the place and the walls were still white.

"Since we don't have maps, you're gonna have to navigate for yourselves." Kenma said. 

"Great." Kuroo groaned as they walked down the hallway. The lights were evenly placed on the ceiling giving them a clue that somehow this was an intentional hideout.

They ducked down when they saw a metal door that had a small window. Bokuto turned to Kuroo with a questioning look. Kuroo shook his head, whispering, "Don't go inside. Someone could be there."

"Your signals are the only signals I'm picking up." Kenma told them, "Try to listen in, maybe it's empty."

Bokuto pressed his ear to the door and when he didn't hear anything, he slowly stood up and peered inside, he saw an office that looked well-kept but otherwise empty. 

He turned to Kuroo with a nod. He pushed the door open which produced a silent creak, making them both wince. They hurried inside and scanned the rack of documents.

They were transport receipts of different guns and ammunition. The only thing was, the typed receipts did not have names on them, be it the group name or the buyer. Could those still be considered as receipts? Probably not.

Bokuto went over to the desk where several documents containing weapon inventories and the like were scattered around. Basically, the only thing that the documents confirmed were that his group was still transporting right under their noses.

"Kuro, go to the computer." Kenma said from the headset. Kuroo nodded and approached the computer on the desk, he sat on the chair and started it up while Bokuto opened the drawers.

Kenma kept giving Kuroo instructions as to what he should do when he opened the computer.

"Load up all the system files and copy them to the hard drive I gave you earlier." Kenma said and Kuroo brought out a drive the size of a bar of soap. He attached it to the CPU and typed in whatever he needed to type in, "All the files? Including the betas?"

"Including that." 

Kuroo nodded before typing again, his hands flying over the keyboard and glancing at the door every once in a while.

"Kenma, I need to have access to move these things." Kuroo stated.

Kenma sighed, "Of course they're locked, otherwise they'd be stupid. Anyways, open up the security system- don't mind the support database, and override to manual-"

Kenma kept saying words Bokuto didn't understand so he didn't pay attention to his headset. He reached the lowest drawer which he saw was empty. He cursed but he noticed a slight difference between the two upper ones.

"Bokuto, you see what I see?" Akaashi said when he found an opportunity to speak over Kenma.

Bokuto nodded, "I see it."

The other two had significantly more space than the last one. Bokuto saw that it was because the bottom part of the last drawer was slightly more raised. He tapped his knuckle on the empty drawer and it made a hollow sound.

He brought out a swiss knife and used it to lift the wood up by the side, exposing a single white folder. Bingo.

He was about to open the folder when Kenma spoke, "I'm picking up a radio signal. It's from the warehouse."

"Shit." Kuroo cursed from above him. Bokuto straightened up after he fixed everything he moved to what they were before and placed the folder inside his vest. 

"Bro, are you done?" Bokuto asked as he approached the door, peering out of the window. 

Kuroo kept typing in, "Almost there. I need 2% more."

"The signal's faint." Akaashi spoke up, "It almost has the same frequency as your- damn it. It's underground."

Kuroo cursed and looked up at Bokuto who shot him a distressed expression and said, "You done?"

Kuroo removed the cable from the computer before typing furiously before turning it off. He stood up after placing the drive into his back pocket and went over to Bokuto who crouched in front of the door, "Is it clear? How far's the signal."

"About twenty meters. It's headed towards you so you better hurry out of there." Akaashi said urgently.

Bokuto opened the door and went out, followed by Kuroo. They sprinted down the hallways, retracing their steps.

"I'm getting two more signals." Kenma informed them, "They're coming from the opposite direction and towards you."

"Fuck!" Bokuto cursed silently as he and Kuroo ran towards the hole they climbed down from until he heard the voices of two men. He dragged Kuroo towards the smaller hallway and out of the main one, crouching. 

A deep voice came, "Were the files sent?"

Another voice sounded, "Yes sir. I've managed to get through but I left minimal changes to their system."

"Good job. Now all we have to do is wait for boss's signal."

Kuroo looked back at Bokuto who shrugged. The voices grew a whole lot fainter allowing Kuroo to peer at the hallway and whisper, "It's clear."

They stood up and continued sprinting down the hallways, their boots making faint noises. 

"Kuro! Bokuto! A signal just popped up and it's directly in front of you!" Kenma said, startling them into a halt. Bokuto looked around and saw a small steel door by the left side of the hallway. He dragged Kuroo into said door, it opened and closed without making a single noise. 

Bokuto panted as he stood and leaned on the wall. Kuroo looked around at the dark room.

"Kenma, what's-" Akaashi started to say but was cut off. Their headsets went blank all of the sudden,

"Kenma?! Akaashi?!" Kuroo hissed to his headset, he turned to Kuroo, "We lost them, bro."

Bokuto frowned and kept pressing the button of his headset on and off, "Shit bro, what happened."

Kuroo shrugged as he removed his headset and tried to scan it in the dark.

"Boku-kur?" Akaashi's voice came through.

"Wait dude, I hear them." Bokuto said making Kuroo reattach his headset.

"Kuro?" Kenma asked clearly, making Kuroo and Bokuto give out sighs of relief.

"Thank fuck." Bokuto breathed. Kuroo spoke, "Hey, Kenma. What happened?"

"I don't know. Where are you? It's too dark for the camera to pick up." Kenma commented. 

Bokuto brought out a small flashlight and pointed it around the relatively small room about the size of a storage closet.

"It looks like some sort of breaker room. There are buttons and levers and other shit." Bokuto whispered, "And it's small."

"Pfft..small?" Kuroo huffed out. Bokuto punched him in the shoulder.

Akaashi sighed, "Why are you two so calm in these situations?"

"Like I said, it's like a real life version of every mmorpg we've ever played." Bokuto answered which Kuroo promptly nodded to, "We're great at parties."

Bokut grinned. His adrenaline was pumping, blinding his sense of worry and settling an urgent kind of calm in him. He feared getting caught but his fear was too far. Too out of his reach.

"You said breaker room, didn't you?" Kenma asked.

Bokuto frowned, "Yeah?"

"That explains it. I don't know why but you two are pretty lucky today," Kenma huffed out, "Sometimes, breaker rooms have jammers that block out radio signals from being detected that's why we lost connection a bit."

Bokuto nodded at that and used his flashlight to scan the contents of the room and surely enough in the far side of the left wall, there was a black box that resembled a wifi modem with several green and red blinking lights.

"And that's great because?" Bokuto drawled out.

"Well it's great because the people around the place or should I say our enemies can't pick up your intruding signals." Kenma explained, "But at the same time, we too can't get your pings."

"But how did you-?" Bokuto questioned.

"We messed with the frequencies for a bit, testing which ones would go through. We're using the lowest ones.” Akaashi replied. Bokuto nodded.

"Wait, we've been here for almost an hour. Don't tell me they haven't discovered our signals yet?" Kuroo asked.

"I was not talking about you guys being in the warehouse, I was talking about you going underground where I assume is the only place their detection covers since they seem to have a machine but it's still underground so the waves it uses for detection cannot go far." Bokuto's head throbbed at Kenma's explanation. 

Kuroo seemed to have understood because he nodded, "But we've been here for 10 minutes. Underground."

"They are not using the standard constant signal detection, they use timed sweeps. The last sweep started about the exact time you entered the breaker room, so they didn't pick up your signal." Kenma enumerated.

"Holy shit. We're that lucky?" Bokuto asked when he finally understood what Kenma meant.

"We're that lucky, bro." Kuroo said giving him a smug smile before saying, "So, Kenma? What do we do now?"

"You turn off your headsets when I tell you to and don't turn them on until you're in the warehouse or while you're underground." Kenma told them, "And be careful because we can't warn you when pings suddenly pop up."

"Alright, then." Kuroo said while Bokuto only said a slight, "K."

"Right now, there are no signals in a twenty meter radius." Akaashi said.

Kuroo nodded, "The tunnel that leads upstairs is about ten meters from where we are right now. We should make it without running into people."

"So, let's go?" Bokuto said keeping a hand on his rifle and pocketing his flashlight.

"Okay. Turn off your headsets." Kenma said and as Kuroo and Bokuto made a move of deactivating their headsets, Akaashi said as their last words, "And keep your asses safe."

Bokuto smiled at Akaashi's words as he lifted his rifle. Kuroo nudged him with an elbow saying, "Bro, you really need to tell me what's up with you and the hottie."

Bokuto turned to him with a dude wtf look before saying, "Jeez bro, we're in the field. I'll tell you when the time is ripe."

Kuroo snorted and placed the gloved back of his palm to his mouth, "I can't believe those words just came out of your mouth."

"You know what bro, fuck you. Let's go." Bokuto said shaking his head incredulously as he stepped out towards the hallway while Kuroo mumbled something that sounded like, "Stingy."

They went outside to the hallway and bolted towards the ledges they climbed down from. Everything went smoothly when suddenly, all the lights turned off as they stood under the hole.

"Shit!" Kuroo cursed as he turned around, "Bokuto!" 

Bokuto reached blindly for his flashlight and shined it on Kuroo's face making the taller man wince. He placed a hand on Kuroo's shoulder, "Bro, I'm here. Come on, I'll give you a lift."

He crouched down with his hands on his knees. Reluctantly, Kuroo slung his rifle over his shoulder and stepped on his hands as he lifted him up towards the ledge. He took hold of the metal and hauled himself up.

He heard a scream from the hallway, "Hey!"

Bokuto turned around and he faced a figure running towards him, face unclear in the darkness. He saw a flash of metal. A gun.

He dropped his flashlight and lifted his rifle, shooting blindly. He heard a yelp of pain as he turned around and lifted his head to look at the hole where Kuroo was shouting for him to come up already. 

He slung his rifle over his shoulder and used his jumping power which he owed to all those years of volleyball to jump his way towards the lowermost ledge.

He caught hold of the metal and hauled himself up. That was thanks to all the pull-ups he'd done on public playgrounds.

As he lifted himself up he heard a gunshot and a body dropping. 

He felt a shocking pain bloom from his stomach making him yelp in pain and his left hand slipped from the metal to clutch at the wound he received.

"Bokuto?!" Kuroo screamed from above.

Bokuto looked up and shouted, "I'm fine! You go ahead!" The pain was blinding but he used all his strength to haul himself up fully, wrapping his hands on the latch. He cried out as he climbed to the second latch and resting his weight on his feet. 

"Bokuto?! Were you shot?!"

"I'm fine! Keep climbing!" He was not fine at all because every time he climbed, he felt the blood pour out of his wound. The pain was overwhelming and all he wanted was just to let go of the ledge and just lay down but he knew that was out of the question.

He climbed up with all the strength he had left and when he reached the top, he saw Kuroo looking at him with wide eyes, "Shit!" 

Kuroo hauled him up, wrapping an arm under his arm and around his shoulder. His hand went flying to his headset, "Akaashi! Kenma! Bokuto's shot!" Kuroo held him up as he staggered, his head swimming. He might have lost his headset because he didn't hear any reply.

Kuroo led him down the hallways, "Fuck! Bokuto stay awake!" 

Bokuto's head was swimming now and the walls of the warehouse illuminated by Kuroo's rifle were closing in on him, his ears ringing painfully.

He didn't know if he was walking or just floating because all he could hear was Kuroo's voice screaming for him to stay awake. And then there was a beep, 

"Bokuto!" It was Akaashi's voice came. He smiled dopily and wheezed out, "Hey."

"Stay awake, okay?" Akaashi said to him shakily. He shook his head and leaned it on Kuroo's shoulder, "I'm sleepy."

"No. You're not sleepy, you're dying bro!" Kuroo said as he led him to the last hallway where he saw the door. Kuroo cursed as he pulled the door, opening it with a loud creak.

Bokuto hissed as the blinding sunlight hit his eyes. He looked at his surroundings and saw Washio running over to them. 

"Boss!" He screamed as approached them

Kuroo shook his head, "Go get the car, Washio. We need to get back to headquarters as soon as possible."

Bokuto's world was turning white, his head spinning like he was in some sort of roller coaster, "Bro, I think this light at the end of the tunnel is the real deal." He wheezed out.

"Fuck! Bokuto stop that!" Kuroo said furiously, as the car came into view destroying the image of the white light.

Bokuto faintly registered when Kuroo placed him in the backseat, his head and shoulders resting on the door. Kuroo went inside beside him and shouted to Washio, "Floor it, Washio!"

Kuroo tore his vest off, cut his shirt and used it to apply pressure to the wound before turning to him, "There's a huge hole in your stomach bro."

"Yeah, I noticed." Bokuto replied, his eyes fluttering. He wanted to go to sleep.

"Bokuto?" It was Akaashi again. "Stay awake, alright?"

Bokuto nodded before saying as steadily as he could, "It's really weird when you say that."

"Why?" Akaashi asked softly.

"You used to keep telling me to go sleep." Bokuto replied with a goofy smile. Every time Akaashi asked him to go to sleep, he felt emotion bloom in his chest knowing that he cared enough to remind him time and time again. 

He heard Akaashi take a shaky breath, "Well, now I'm asking you to stay awake."

"Alright, I will. For you." Bokuto whispered. 

Bokuto, this is just like when Akaashi asks you to sleep and you follow obediently, except it's the opposite. You need to stay awake.

Kuroo gave him a bloody thumbs up which he replied to with a bloodier one.

Bokuto didn't hear Akaashi's voice after that. He only heard whispers of mostly Kenma telling Akaashi to calm down and asking Kuroo where they were.

Bokuto winced as he felt more blood pour out of the wound Kuroo was pressing down on. He looked at Kuroo, "I'm sorry for this bro."

Kuroo gave him an incredulous look, "This is not your fault."

"You know it is." Bokuto smiled before turning his head away, "Well at least I'll be the one to pay the price."

"Stop saying things like that, Bokuto." Akaashi mumbled from the headset. Bokuto smiled, "I can't help it wifey."

"You're dying and you still have the nerve to mess around." Bokuto could almost hear how done Akaashi was with him. He smiled and let out a chuckle which resulted to him coughing up a fatal amount of blood. 

Bokuto frowned at the metallic taste and wiped his mouth with an already bloodied hand.

"Bokuto, just-" Akaashi started sounding panicked. 

Bokuto grinned, "I'm fine, 'Kaashi." Another round of coughs came making Kuroo push harder on his wound making him yelp a bit.

Kuroo gave him an apologetic look, "I'm sorry, bro."

"Nah. Just do what you gotta do." Bokuto grinned at him before changing his expression, "You know bro-"

"Don't say anything shitty, Bo. I don't want to hear any of that." Kuroo frowned, turning to look at the familiar road.

Bokuto really did want to say something to Kuroo because of the fact that his consciousness was so close to slipping he was actually using all his might to stay awake and open his eyes. 

I'm asking you to stay awake

Bokuto refused to sleep. He wanted to stay awake. He needed to.

He grinned at Kuroo and continued talking to busy himself, "Jeez. I was just about to tell you," A cough came up thankfully without blood and he continued, "You're sitting on my leg."

Kuroo immediately lifted his ass from Bokuto's leg and readjusted the way he sat before sighing, "Damn it, Bo."

"I just wanna be chill even though I'm dying." He explained, "Maybe you could put that on my headstone." Bokuto grinned and lifted a hand to make an air quote, "Chill in the face death."

Kuroo shook his head, snorting a bit, "Just hang in there, bro. You're not dying on me." He said. They were silent for minutes, as Bokuto kept searching for the words to say in reply.

He saw Kuroo looking at the road with a slight grimace. Bokuto could make out the gates that lead to the house.

"Dude, I'm not dying on you. If anything, I'm dying in front of you." He joked. Kuroo just shook his head and opened the door even though the car was still running. 

When the car stopped, he immediately bent down and hauled Bokuto up, making him cry out as his wound got squeezed, even more blood leaking out. By the time they came out, the car seat was filled with blood despite Kuroo’s efforts. 

Kuroo held him up as they staggered towards the entrance where his men were running towards him, one of them bringing a stretcher.

Bokuto couldn't stay upright anymore. He was getting too cold. He shivered as he walked, his feet hovering slightly due to Kuroo's way of holding him up.

Bokuto's eyes fluttered as he saw someone running towards him and ahead of the others as they entered foyer. 

"Bokuto!" Akaashi exclaimed as he went over to him. Bokuto gave him a small smile, "Hey."

Akaashi placed a hand on his shoulder as Kuroo wavered slightly and as his men drew closer, "Bokuto, stay awake for a little longer."

Bokuto smiled at him before the world spun. He slumped forward, leaning his body on Akaashi who held him up after letting out a surprised yelp.

Bokuto swayed on his feet and smiled against his collarbone, "I'm going to sleep."

"Bokuto!"

His eyes closed and this time it wasn't white. Too much tunnel and not enough light, he thought. 

The world stopped spinning and everything turned black.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't worry :D


End file.
